Court review of same-sex unions worries Hungary's gay community

The Constitutional Court has placed the issue of registered partnerships for same-sex couples on its docket for its autumn session and this has many people in the gay community worried, wrote Wednesday's national daily Népszabadság.

Parliament passed the law allowing same-sex couples to legalise their unions last December by appearing before a registrar, but the law only goes into effect this coming January. Laszlo Mocsonaki, lawyer for the organisation Background Society for Gays told Népszabadság that the last time the high court had to rule on a gay issue - whether the age of consent for a same-sex relationship could differ from that for a heterosexual one - it took them nine years to decide that the difference was discriminatory.

The rush now to rule on registered partnerships may be an attempt to prevent the law from taking effect, he added.

The Christian Democrat People's Party (KDNP) took the law before the court in April, calling for it to be declared unconstitutional. In 1995, the Constitutional Court rejected same-sex marriage, but recommended a separate legal framework for same-sex unions. Based on that, Gabor Kuszing of the Patent Association said he had been sure the high court would stand up for registered partnerships but the haste has raised doubts in his mind.

Constitutional Court Spokesman Andras Sereg rejected the idea that the court was sending a message through its speed. According to Sereg, if possible, the high court always attempts to rule on disputed legislation before it goes into effect. This is not a sign that it favours throwing out the law, he told Népszabadság.

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