Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has struck down legislation that would have required the country to recognise same-sex marriages performed elsewhere in the EU, defying a ruling from the bloc’s top court and setting the stage for a fresh legal clash between Warsaw and Brussels.
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has overturned a law that would have led to the legal recognition of same-sex spouses who married in other EU member states before relocating to Poland. The unanimous ruling, delivered on Tuesday, directly defies an order from the Court of Justice of the European Union, which had said that Poland must at least recognise same-sex unions legally contracted elsewhere in the bloc, even though the country does not permit same-sex marriage domestically. The decision is final and cannot be appealed under Polish law, and could set up a fresh power struggle between Poland’s top court and EU institutions.
What the ruling means
The case centres specifically on the transcription of foreign marriage certificates into Poland’s civil registry. The court’s decision does not invalidate same-sex marriages performed abroad, but it prevents them from being formally recorded as marriages within Poland. In its statement, the Constitutional Tribunal said plans for the “preparation and issuance of certified copies concerning unions contracted abroad that do not constitute a union between a woman and a man” were “inconsistent with Article 92, Paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.”
Article 18 of Poland’s constitution states: “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,” effectively defining marriage as heterosexual and placing the matter within Poland’s own jurisdiction. Article 92, Paragraph 1 specifies that such regulations must be determined by “the organs specified in the Constitution.” The court did not elaborate further on its reasoning in its brief statement, though the ruling suggests its judges concluded that the EU court’s order encroached on Poland’s authority to set its own family and marriage policy.
The judgment is expected to limit access to certain administrative rights in Poland that depend on a marriage being formally entered into the national civil register, although affected couples may still be able to rely on alternative legal documents in some circumstances.
Origins of the case
The legal challenge originated with a case brought by two men, a Polish national and a German-Polish dual national, who had married legally while living in Germany in 2018 before moving to Poland the following year. Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled in March that recognising the marriage “does not violate national identity,” nor interfere with Poland’s authority to determine its own family and marriage laws.
Following that ruling, Poland’s government implemented legislation in May that would have allowed such recognition, with the law set to come into force at the end of August. However, the right-wing opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party challenged the legislation at the Constitutional Tribunal, arguing that recognising foreign same-sex marriages would effectively introduce same-sex marriage into Poland through administrative means rather than through constitutional change. The challenge has now succeeded.
Background to the EU ruling
The Court of Justice of the European Union’s ruling, issued in November 2025, had not required Poland to legalise same-sex marriage domestically, nor to formally recognise same-sex spouses as married under Polish law. It had, however, required that a same-sex couple legally married elsewhere in the EU, who then exercised their freedom of movement to live in another member state such as Poland, should have their marital status entered into the civil register, where this was the only way to secure the legal benefits and protections associated with marital status in that country.
A long-running legal dispute
This is not the first clash between Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal and EU institutions. The two have previously come into conflict over issues including judicial independence and the primacy of EU law, most notably during a long-running dispute over the appointment of new judges to the Tribunal while PiS was in government. The European Court of Justice most recently rebuked Poland’s top court over related matters in December.
Critics of Tuesday’s ruling have warned it could expose Poland to further legal proceedings, or even financial penalties, from the European Commission if the country is found to be failing to comply with EU law. Human rights organisations and LGBT advocacy groups have also criticised the judgment, arguing it leaves same-sex couples who married legally elsewhere in the EU facing continued legal uncertainty if they choose to live in Poland.
Poland’s wider position on same-sex unions
Poland remains one of only four European Union member states, alongside Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, that recognise neither same-sex marriage nor same-sex civil partnerships. According to census data, roughly 70% of Poland’s population identifies as Roman Catholic.
