Poland implements new rules for transcribing foreign same-sex marriages

New regulations issued by the Ministry of Digital Affairs have entered into force in Poland, allowing civil registry offices to transcribe foreign same-sex marriage certificates into the national register. The regulation introduced new document templates that replace gender-specific headings, such as ‘woman’s data’ and ‘man’s data,’ with neutral categories including ‘woman and woman’ and ‘man and man.’

In Gdańsk, the civil registry office has already processed six such registrations for citizens who married in Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Austria. While some officials report successful implementations, the move has sparked a legal conflict. The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that these regulations are unconstitutional, citing Article 18 of the Constitution, which defines marriage as a union between a woman and a man.

This ruling has created a divide among local authorities. While some offices are proceeding with transcriptions, others, such as the Mayor of Zakopane, Łukasz Filipowicz, have announced that their local registry offices will refuse to recognize these foreign same-sex marriage documents.