Advocate General of the European Court of Justice Tamara Čapeta believes that Hungarian laws targeting LGBTQ+ people violate the principles of human dignity and exacerbate harm to children.
The document was published by the European Court of Justice.
Tamara Čapeta published a legal opinion on the Hungarian Child Protection Act. Her opinion is not binding, but judges usually follow the Advocate Generalʼs position.
A law passed in 2021 bans the mention of LGBTQ+ topics in schools and on television until 10 PM. Chapeta writes that the law is not based on any scientific research, but is a value judgment or, as the European Parliament put it to the court, “a prejudice that homosexual and non-cisgender [transgender] lives do not have equal value or status with heterosexual and cisgender lives”.
The Advocate General concluded that Hungarian legislation violates the fundamental rights of human dignity, respect for family life and non-discrimination, and that Hungary does not protect children, but rather “reinforces the harm”.
“Minors who belong to the LGBTI community are particularly affected, as the removal of information about LGBTI life from the public sphere prevents them from realizing that their lives are not abnormal,” she notes.
Chapeta also supported arguments that the law violates EU trade and audiovisual law, which prohibits governments from imposing restrictions on media without a justified public interest.
Hungaryʼs LGBTQ+ policy
In 2021, the Hungarian parliament passed a law that restricts young peopleʼs right to receive information about homosexuality and transgenderism. The law prohibits children and young people from reading books, films and other media that depict any type of sexuality other than heterosexuality. All advertising featuring homosexual or transgender people is also banned. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Hungary that it must repeal the law, calling it a "disgrace".
In April 2023, a majority of EU countries supported the European Commissionʼs lawsuit against Hungarian laws that restrict the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
On April 14, 2025, the Hungarian parliament approved amendments to the Constitution that restrict LGBTQ+ rights and ban pride parades. The basic law stipulates that gender can only be male or female, and that “protection of children’s rights” can justify restrictions on freedom of assembly.
In May 2025, Budapest police denied permission to hold the annual Pride parade.
Author: Oleksandr Bulin
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