EU Countries Must Mutually Recognise Same-Sex Marriages, Top Court Rules

Refusing to recognise a lawful marriage is contrary to EU law because it infringes freedom of movement and the right to respect for private and family life, the judges said. It may also cause serious inconvenience at administrative, professional and private levels, forcing spouses to live as unmarried persons.

The case involved two Polish citizens who married in Berlin in 2018 and returned to Poland, where they requested their German marriage certificate be transcribed into the Polish civil register for recognition.

Poland refused the request because it doesn’t allow same-sex marriage.

The couple challenged the decision at Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court, which referred the matter to the ECJ in Luxembourg. On Tuesday, the judges ruled the marriage was valid throughout the 27-member bloc.

The spouses, as EU citizens, enjoy freedom to move and reside within member states and the right to lead a normal family life when exercising that freedom and upon returning to their home country, the court said.

When couples create a family life in a host member state, particularly through marriage, they must have certainty they can continue that family life upon returning to their home country, the judges said.

The court noted its decision doesn’t force member states to amend domestic legislation to allow same-sex marriage, but instead requires them to recognise marriages lawfully concluded in another EU country.

The procedure must be applied without distinction or additional hurdles.

More than half of the 27 member states currently recognise same-sex marriage. The Netherlands made history in 2001 by becoming the first country in the world to do so.

Others recognise same-sex civil unions, but Poland currently doesn’t, despite an attempt by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to strengthen LGBTQ+ rights in the country.