EU Court Orders Recognition Of Cross-Border Same-Sex Marriages

The European Union’s top court on Tuesday delivered a judgment directing all member states to recognise same-sex marriages performed anywhere within the bloc.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a warning to Poland for refusing to acknowledge such a union contracted in Germany.

The court held that Polish authorities acted unlawfully when they declined to register the marriage of two Polish men upon their return to the country, citing domestic laws that prohibit same-sex marriage.

The court said the refusal violated EU citizens’ rights, warning that the move breached both the freedom of movement and residence and the fundamental right to respect for private and family life.

In Poland, where the Catholic Church maintains strong influence, LGBT rights have long been politically contentious and described in the past by former leaders as an external cultural threat.

The current pro-European government has, however, been working on a draft bill that would provide legal recognition for civil partnerships, including same-sex unions.

The EU ruling came in response to a request from a Polish court hearing the case brought by the couple (identified only by their initials), who married in Germany in 2018 and later sought to have their marriage recorded in Poland’s civil registry.

“This ruling is historic, it marks a new beginning in the fight for equality and equal treatment for same-sex couples,” said Pawel Knut, the couple’s lawyer.

Knut said Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court must now decide whether to order the register the marriage but added that the EU judgment leaves little room for resistance.

The CJEU stressed that EU citizens must be able to maintain a “normal family life” when they move between member states, and when they return home after legally marrying abroad.

While the ruling does not require states to legalise same-sex marriage in their domestic laws, it prohibits them from discriminating against such couples regarding recognition of foreign marriages.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition has faced internal opposition on the civil partnership bill from conservative partners.

Poland’s nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has reiterated that he would veto any legislation he believes weakens the constitutional definition of marriage.