The Constitutional Tribunal of Poland declared on Tuesday, July 28, that they will not concede to the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) 2025 ruling that all EU members must recognise same-sex marriages performed in countries where it is legal.

The decision was made on the basis of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which states “Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland”.

The situation has been developing since 2018, when a German-Polish same-sex couple married in Berlin and were subsequently denied legal recognition by the country’s civil register. Following this, a court case took place between the couple and the Polish government, with both the CJEU and Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) endorsing their union.

A 2023 European Court Report explains, “the European Court of Human Rights concluded that by refusing to register the applicants’ marriages under any form… the Polish authorities have left them in a legal vacuum and have not provided for the core needs of recognition and protection of same-sex couples in a stable and committed relationship”.

Furthermore, as ILGA Europe specifies, although “the judgment does not oblige any Member State to introduce marriage equality”, it does require them “to create a non-discriminatory and workable administrative procedure to recognise same sex marriages performed in other EU countries, if they don’t have one already.” ILGA Europe’s 2026 Rainbow Map ranked Poland 39th out of 49 countries for its laws and policies affecting LGBTQ+ people, showing the urgent need for progress within the country.

This court ruling comes after Polish President Karol Nawrocki recently rejected two bills known as the ‘cohabitation contracts’ which would have provided legal recognition for same-sex couples living together.