Constitutionally wedded in Hungary – A feminist rewriting exercise

As of 1 July 2009, same-sex couples can access the institution of registered partnership in Hungary but not that of marriage. Within the paper, a Hungarian Constitutional Court decision is examined and rewritten considering feminist perspectives on marriage. Regarding the timeline of same-sex couple recognition, two main Constitutional Court decisions can be identified: the 14/1995 (III. 13.) and the 154/2008. (XII. 17.). The first quite progressive one tackled the question of de facto partnerships and their relation to marriage, while the second focused on how registered partnership, a new form of state-recognized partnership can and should be regulated in comparison with marriage. Within the paper, first, these two decisions are presented and examined. Second, the rewriting exercise is conducted by delivering commentary on the 2008 Decision and by proposing different approaches to rewriting it. The commentary reflects on the neutrality of the Court in relation to homosexuality and the question of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the question of state obligation within the private sphere, and the value of marriage as an institution. The rewriting relies on feminist and queer critiques of the institution of marriage, highlighting its value, relevance, and “special place” within society and the legal framework through concepts such as heteronormativity (Warner, 1991), amatonormativity (Brake, 2012), and allonormativity (Mollet & Lackman, 2022). Critiques of assimilation (Butler, 2002) and possible reforms to the institution of marriage (Chambers, 2013) are presented briefly. The equal freedom and freedom of choice of the citizen to decide how to live and lead their life is another aspect of the rewriting process. To further elaborate and argue that expanding on the choices for partnership recognition is a value, the dissenting opinion of Dr. András Bragyova and the philosophical perspective of Martha C. Nussbaum and Nauzisca Palazzo are used. The paper forms part of the Feminist Judgments Project in Central and Eastern Europe where a group of academics perform similar feminist rewriting exercises within their contexts.