Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

has recognized registered partnerships since 1 July 2009, offering same-sex couples nearly all the rights and benefits of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

. Unregistered cohabitation for same-sex couples was recognised and placed on equal footing with the unregistered cohabitation of different-sex couples in 1996. However,

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

is prohibited by the 2011

Constitution of Hungary The Fundamental Law of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország alaptörvénye), the country's constitution, was adopted by parliament on 18 April 2011, promulgated by the president a week later and entered into force on 1 January 2012. It is Hungary's first c ...

, which took effect in January 2012.

Unregistered cohabitation

Cohabitation law applies to couples living together in an economic and sexual relationship, including opposite-sex and same-sex couples. No official registration is required. Hungarian law gives some specified rights and benefits to two persons living together. These rights include hospital visitation and access to medical information, jail and prison visitation rights for the partner of an incarcerated person, right to make decisions about the deceased partner's funeral, right to declare a same-sex partner as a

next of kin A person's next of kin (NOK) are that person's closest living blood relatives. Some countries, such as the United States, have a legal definition of "next of kin". In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, "next of kin" may have no legal d ...

widow's pension A widow's pension is a payment from the government of a country to a person whose spouse has died. Generally, such payments are made to a widow whose late spouse has fulfilled the country's requirements, including contribution, cohabitation, and l ...

, immigration rights, etc. Some of these benefits require an official statement from the social department of the local government that proves that the partners are indeed cohabiting.

Registered partnerships

In 2007, the Gyurcsány Government, comprising the

Alliance of Free Democrats The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party ( hu, Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége – a Magyar Liberális Párt, SZDSZ) was a liberal political party in Hungary. The SZDSZ was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrat ...

(SZDSZ) and the

Hungarian Socialist Party The Hungarian Socialist Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Párt), commonly known by its acronym MSZP, is a centre-left social-democratic and pro-European political party in Hungary. It was founded on 7 October, 1989 as a post-communist evolution ...

(MSZP), submitted a bill to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

to establish registered partnerships for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Parliament adopted the bill on 17 December 2007. This act would have provided all of the rights of

to registered partners except for the ability to

adopt Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

and to take a common surname. The registered partnership act would have entered into force on 1 January 2009, but on 15 December 2008 the Hungarian Constitutional Court declared it unconstitutional on the grounds that it duplicated the institution of marriage for opposite-sex couples. The court found that a registered partnership law that only applied to same-sex couples would be constitutional; indeed, it opined that the Parliament had a duty to introduce such a law. Prime Minister

Ferenc Gyurcsány Ferenc Gyurcsány (; born 4 June 1961) is a Hungarian entrepreneur and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009. Prior to that, he held the position of Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports between 2003 and 2004. ...

instructed the Minister of Justice, Tibor Draskovics, to draft a new, revised bill that would conform to the court's decision. On 23 December 2008, the government announced that it would introduce a new registered partnership bill in line with the Constitutional Court's decision. The legislation would offer same-sex couples all of the rights offered by the previous act, and would be presented to Parliament as early as February 2009. On 12 February 2009, the government approved the new bill, and it was adopted by the National Assembly on 20 April 2009. 199 MPs (from the governing Socialist and Alliance of Free Democrats parties) voted for the bill, while 159 MPs (mostly from

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; hu, Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán. It was formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young ...

and the Christian Democratic People's Party) voted against it, and 8 unallied MPs abstained. The new registered partnership act took effect on 1 July 2009. On 23 March 2010, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law is constitutional. Registered partnerships ( hu, bejegyzett élettársi kapcsolat, ) are only open to same-sex couples. Registered partners are entitled to the same

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Of ...

and

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically h ...

, widow's pension,

tax benefits Tax deduction is a reduction of income that is able to be taxed and is commonly a result of expenses, particularly those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. T ...

, social benefits, and immigration and naturalization rights as married spouses. Partners are also entitled to receive information about the health of their partner and make medical decisions if the partner cannot do so themselves (e.g. accident), are treated as next-of-kin in criminal law, and are protected from

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

. Unlike married spouses, registered partners cannot take a common surname, adopt or participate in

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

. In February 2018, the Budapest District Court ruled that Hungary must recognize same-sex marriages performed abroad as registered partnerships.

Statistics

The number of registered partnerships established in Hungary per year is shown in the table below.

Same-sex marriage

In September 2007, the liberal

, part of the governing coalition since the 2002 elections, presented a draft

bill to the Parliament's Human Rights Committee. This would have defined marriage as the union of "two persons" over the age of 18 irrespective of

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...

. On 6 November 2007, the committee rejected the bill without debate. Opponents of the bill pointed to a Constitutional Court ruling a few months earlier that defined the institution of marriage as a bond "between a man and a woman". On 1 January 2012, a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

enacted by the government of

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between ...

, leader of the ruling

party, came into effect, restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples and containing no guarantees of protection from

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...

on account of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

. Article L reads: "Hungary shall protect the institution of marriage as the union of a man and a woman established by voluntary decision, and the family as the basis of the nation's survival." On 29 June 2015, Deputy Gábor Fodor from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

introduced a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...

to define marriage as a union of two people and a bill to make appropriate changes in statutory laws. Both measures were rejected by the Parliament's Justice Committee on 26 October 2015.

Public opinion

Several opinion polls have been conducted to gauge the attitudes of

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

on the issue of same-sex marriage and registered partnerships. A

Eurobarometer Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU Institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout i ...

survey released in December 2006 found that 18% of Hungarians believed same-sex marriages should be allowed throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. A poll conducted by Medián in July 2007 showed that 30% of respondents considered it "acceptable" for same-sex couples to get married, and a poll by MASMI (Market Research & Public Opinion Polling) published in December 2007 showed that 35% of Hungarians were in favour of allowing same-sex couples to marry. A poll by Szonda Ipsos in September 2009 found that the majority of Hungarians, 58%, supported the newly introduced registered partnership law for same-sex couples. A May 2013

Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the P ...

poll found that 30% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage and another 21% supported other forms of recognition for same-sex couples. The 2015 Eurobarometer found that 39% of Hungarians thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 53% were opposed. A 2016 opinion poll conducted by

Budapest Pride Budapest Pride, or Budapest Pride Film and Cultural Festival, is Hungary's largest annual LGBT event. Of the week-long festival, the march is the most visible event. The march has historically been known under several names, including ''Budapest G ...

and Integrity Lab found that 36% of Hungarians were in favour of same-sex marriage, while 56% were opposed and 7% were undecided (21% "strongly" supported, 15% "somewhat" supported, 15% "somewhat" opposed and 41% "strongly" opposed). The poll also found that 60% of the population agreed that lesbian, gay and bisexual people should have the same rights as heterosexual people, and 46% supported adoption rights for same-sex couples with 47% opposed. Support for same-sex marriage was higher among women (40%) than among men (33%), higher among university graduates (43%), and higher among people who personally knew a gay person (46%). Opposition was mainly concentrated among religious people, with 75% of regular church attendees opposing same-sex marriage, decreasing based on the level of

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed ...

, and among voters of the ruling Fidesz party (71%). Among irreligious people, support and opposition both stood at 47%. Despite a majority of Hungarians opposing same-sex marriage, the poll found that 60% disagreed with the belief that same-sex marriage poses a threat to Hungarian values and 66% were of the opinion that "same-sex couples want to get married as a show of their mutual love and devotion". A poll by

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...

published in May 2017 found that 27% of Hungarians were in favor of same-sex marriage, while 64% opposed it. Support was higher among non-religious people (34%) and 18–34 year olds (39%), in contrast to Catholics (25%) and people aged 35 and over (23%). The 2019 Eurobarometer found that 33% of Hungarians thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 61% were opposed. A May 2021 Ipsos poll showed that 46% of Hungarians supported same-sex marriage, 20% supported partnerships but not marriage, while 18% were opposed to all legal recognition for same-sex couples, and 17% were undecided.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe LGBT rights in Hungary