Polish Constitutional Tribunal rejects same‑sex marriage transcription regulation

On 28 July the Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the regulation issued by Minister of Digitisation Krzysztof Gawkowski, which would have introduced a combined “woman/man” field on marriage certificates to facilitate the transcription of foreign same‑sex marriages, is unconstitutional. The three‑judge panel – Bogdan Święczkowski, Stanisław Piotrowicz and Wojciech Sych – decided unanimously that the measure violates article 18 of the Constitution, which defines marriage as a union of a woman and a man, and exceeds the minister’s statutory authority.

The government says the regulation will still come into force on 23 August, with spokesperson Adam Szłapka and equality envoy Katarzyna Kotula stating that the ruling has no legal effect. The dispute follows a European Court of Justice decision requiring EU states to recognise same‑sex marriages performed in other member states for the purposes of free movement, though it does not obligate Poland to allow such marriages domestically. The government points to earlier National Administrative Court rulings that ordered civil‑registry transcription of a same‑sex marriage of two Poles performed in Germany, and maintains that transcriptions will continue despite the court’s decision, leaving couples in legal uncertainty.