Overview
- The Constitutional Tribunal declared a ministerial regulation that would have required civil registries to transcribe same‑sex marriages performed in other EU countries unconstitutional, blocking a nationwide rule planned for the end of August.
- The government says it will not comply with the tribunal’s decision and intends to keep transcribing foreign same‑sex marriages, creating an unresolved clash between the executive and the court.
- The tribunal cited Article 18 of Poland’s constitution, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, while the European Court of Justice has ruled that EU members must recognize same‑sex marriages legally performed in other member states.
- Local registries have already transcribed roughly 200 foreign same‑sex marriage certificates and the interior minister, Marcin Kierwinski, issued the order to standardize that practice before the tribunal intervened.
- The dispute, echoed by a similar stance in Slovakia, raises the prospect of prolonged legal conflict with EU law and practical uncertainty for couples who married abroad and rely on Polish recognition for family and mobility rights.