Polish court finds regulation allowing foreign same-sex marriage registration unconstitutional
The government says it will ignore the ruling and foreign marriage certificates will continue to be transcribed.
Poland's Constitutional Tribunal has declared a new regulation permitting the registration of foreign same-sex marriage certificates in Poland to be unconstitutional, ruling that it surpassed the bounds of administrative adjustments and contravened the constitution's definition of marriage. The regulation, enacted by the digital affairs ministry following Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and Poland's Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) directives, was set to become effective on August 23.
The government, which perceives the court as improperly constituted, has declared it will not enforce the ruling. This decision arises from an EU court mandate and signifies a significant shift in a nation where same-sex unions are legally prohibited under domestic law. During the previous year, same-sex couples who wed abroad were also barred from recording their marriage certificates in Poland.
Prior to the current year, same-sex couples were unable to register their marriage certificates in Poland. Following the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling that Poland must acknowledge such marriages, the digital affairs ministry modified civil status forms. These updated templates employ "man/woman" instead of separate fields for "man" and "woman," enabling registry offices to document both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages.
However, the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, which holds a significant influence on the tribunal, contested the regulation, contending that the digital affairs minister exceeded his authority since the modifications were not merely technical but also influenced the constitutional definition of marriage. The tribunal concurred, asserting that the new forms enable the recording of relationships that do not align with the constitution's definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman as a marriage.
The tribunal emphasized that laws can only implement existing legislation and cannot modify matters reserved for the constitution or parliament. Furthermore, the tribunal contended that registering a foreign marriage certificate cannot yield legal ramifications that conflict with the fundamental principles of Polish law. It also highlighted that altering the constitutional definition of marriage necessitates amendments to the constitution and associated laws.
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