Overview
- Europe’s top court ruled that every EU country must acknowledge same‑sex marriages legally concluded in another member state when free‑movement and family‑life rights are engaged.
- The court affirmed that marriage regulation remains a national competence and the ruling does not require countries to legalize same‑sex marriage domestically.
- Member states may choose the recognition method, such as transcribing a foreign marriage certificate, provided it is equivalent, non‑discriminatory, and not excessively burdensome.
- The judges highlighted that refusal to acknowledge such marriages can cause serious administrative, professional, and private hardships, effectively treating spouses as single.
- The case arose from a Polish couple married in Germany whose transcription was denied in Poland, and Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court must now apply the ruling to the dispute.