Polish Constitutional Tribunal Rules Same-Sex Marriage Certificate Regulation Unconstitutional

Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has unanimously ruled that a government regulation enabling the transcription of foreign same-sex marriage certificates violates the constitution.

New Marriage Certificate Regulation Challenged

In late May, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski and Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński signed a regulation defining new marriage certificate templates, allowing civil registry offices across Poland to transcribe foreign same-sex marriage certificates to take effect on August 23. In early June, MPs represented by Marcin Warchoł from PiS challenged the regulation.

The change replaced the previously mandatory “woman’s data” and “man’s data” column names with optional “man/woman data” for civil status documents, including complete and abbreviated marriage certificates and data confirmation certificates.

Constitutional Tribunal Ruling

On Tuesday, July 28, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the regulation is unconstitutional regarding the introduction of document templates for issuing certificates of marriages concluded abroad that do not constitute a union between a woman and a man.

The ruling was adopted unanimously by a three-judge panel chaired by Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski, with Judge Stanisław Piotrowicz as rapporteur and Judge Wojciech Sych on the panel, while Marcin Warchoł represented the applicants.

Legal Context and Previous Transcriptions

Under a Sejm resolution adopted in March 2024, public authorities incorporating Constitutional Tribunal rulings issued in violation of the law may be deemed in violation of the legality principle, and these rulings are not published in the Journal of Laws.

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on November 25, 2025, that refusing to recognize a same-sex marriage legally concluded in another EU member state violates EU law.

Poland’s first transcription took place in Warsaw on May 14, followed by Wrocław the next day, while Zakopane Mayor Łukasz Filipowicz announced his office would refuse foreign same-sex marriage transcriptions, emphasizing that the new regulations do not change the constitution.