Overview
- The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that a member state cannot refuse to recognize a same‑sex marriage lawfully celebrated in another EU country when recognition is necessary to exercise EU rights.
- The case concerned two Polish citizens married in Germany whose request to transcribe their marriage in Poland was denied by national authorities.
- Judges held that refusal to recognize the marriage violates freedom of movement and the right to respect for private and family life.
- When a country uses a single procedure to register foreign marriages, it must apply it equally to same‑sex and opposite‑sex couples; in Poland, this requires authorities to transcribe such marriages.
- The decision creates a binding precedent for cross‑border recognition of civil status under EU law without requiring any member state to introduce same‑sex marriage domestically.