Poland’s government has issued a regulation allowing same-sex marriages conducted in other EU member states to be entered into the Polish civil registry.
The decision, which comes in response to a European court ruling requiring Poland to recognise such marriages, marks a major change in a country that still does not allow any form of same-sex union to be concluded under domestic law.
Up until now, Poland’s civil registry has only allowed male-female marriages to be entered. However, that will change under a government regulation signed into force by interior minister Marcin Kierwiński and digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski.
Instead of two separate sections titled “man” and “woman”, each will now be labelled “man/woman”, meaning the system can recognise both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages, reports broadcaster TVN.
“Thanks to this change, every civil registry office in Poland will be able to transcribe same-sex marriages concluded abroad,” wrote Gawkowski on social media. “The state will treat all citizens with dignity and respect…History is unfolding before our eyes.”
Until this year, same-sex couples who married abroad and have tried to have their marriage certificates transcribed into the Polish system have had their efforts rejected by registry offices and courts, which often pointed to article 18 of Poland’s constitution.
That states that: “Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.”
However, following a long-running legal battle by one couple, last November the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Poland must recognise same-sex marriages conducted in other EU member states.
That in turn led Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) to issue an order, in March this year, for Warsaw’s registry office to transcribe the marriage certificate of the couple who took their case to the CJEU.
However, before this month, it remained unclear how the Polish government would implement the CJEU and NSA rulings. Reports suggested disagreement between more liberal and conservative elements within Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s broad ruling coalition over what action to take.
However, the government sprang into action last week after Tusk issued a public apology to same-sex couples for the “years of rejection and humiliation” they have experienced due to Poland not legally recognising their relationships and ordered his ministers to move forward with the necessary changes.
Meanwhile, even before today’s government regulation was issued, two Polish cities, Warsaw and then Wrocław, began entering same-sex marriages into their registries. They simply listed one spouse in the “man” section and the other as a “woman”, even though that was not accurate for one of the spouses.
There remains uncertainty about what legal consequences the transcription of foreign same-sex marriages into the Polish system will have in practice, especially given that Poland’s domestic law does not allow for any legally recognised form of same-sex union.
Kierwiński has previously said that transcription “does not mean that marriages concluded abroad will have each and every right” available to other married couples. Legal experts say it will take time – and potential further court rulings – for norms to be established.
Separately, the government last year approved a proposed law allowing same-sex couples to receive certain rights normally granted to married couples. However, the bill has not yet been voted on by parliament and, even if it is approved, faces a likely veto from conservative, opposition-aligned President Karol Nawrocki.
This week, far-right opposition group Confederation (Konfederacja) submitted a bill to parliament that would ban same-sex couples from adopting children. It says the move was prompted by concern that the recognition of same-sex marriages could lead to such couples being allowed to adopt.
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Posted by BubsyFanboy
1 Comment
!ping POLAND
**1. Why is this relevant for** r/neoliberal **?**
This is relevant to Polish politics, LGBT rights, law, administration and the European Union.
**2. What do you think people should discuss about it?**
I think people should discuss the EU court’s ruling on foreign same-sex marriage, the government’s initial reluctance to administer it, the LGBT+ groups’ backlash to it, the local city governments and now the national government finally introducing it and public reactions to the fact.
**2a. What do you think of the issue at hand?**
Just because “protection and care” is defined for marriages between a man and a woman does not mean gay couples can’t be recognized at all.
Still, I find Gawkowski saying the years of humiliation are over premature. I find the fact that gay people still need to move to another country just to get legally married is insulting. Also, might wanna watch out for the next elections – homophobes will most likely get the majority once again.