Women, sexual orientation, gender identity, and constitutional developments in Hungary.

This article examines how successive Hungarian constitutions and the jurisprudence of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) have shaped the country’s gender order, focusing on four key areas: equality between women and men, abortion, private-life relationships including marriage and family, and self-identified gender. It finds that the liberal constitution (1989–2011) lacked explicit gender-related definitions and that both Parliament and the HCC maintained traditionalist positions, while the illiberal Fundamental Law (FL) adopted since 2012 explicitly affirms traditional gender roles and family values, serving as a preemptive barrier against claims by sexual minorities. The HCC, increasingly packed with government-loyal judges under the FL regime, has shown evasive and deferential jurisprudence, prioritizing formal equality and avoiding substantive engagement with evolving gender concepts. The article highlights that constitutional changes and judicial independence, influenced by the political context, are key variables shaping Hungary’s gender regime, which is characterized by complexity and a patchwork of legal and social approaches rather than a coherent or linear progression.