The term of “family” cannot be limited to the relationship
of a man and a woman
The Constitutional
Court – with its ruling No. II/3012/2012. – has
annulled Section 7 of Act CCXI of 2011 on the Protection of Families, which unduly
narrowed the term of family.
The above
mentioned act defines the family as an
emotional and economic community in a system of relations, based on the marriage of a man and a woman, or lineal descendants, or guardianship.
This
definition complies with the marriage and family protecting clause of the
Constitution (Article L. of the Constitution), however, it only includes a part
of the possible and existent family relations. Because it does not follow from
Article L. of the Constitution that the relations included in the wider
sociological term of family, based on mutual care and permanent emotional and
economic community, aiming at the same goal (e.g. like the partners caring
about and raising each other’s children, partners not wishing to get children,
or partners of different sexes who cannot
have children through other reasons, the widows, persons caring about their
sibling or children of their siblings or other kin, or those caring about an
elder kin of the ascending line, etc.) would be excluded from the obligation of the
republic on protecting the institution.
Considering,
that the family, in a wider sense, is under the protection of the Constitution,
the legislator may not enact provisions which narrow the constitutional
conception of the family.
Present ruling
of the Constitutional
Court will have effects in Hungary
on the new Civil Code as well as on the subvention system of the families.
Contact
for further information:
Dr.
Barbara Gál, Associate
barbara.gal@gfplegal.com
+
36 1 270 99 00
