{"id":5884,"date":"2026-06-24T23:14:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/senate-debates-closest-person-act-amidst-law-and-justice-opposition\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:14:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:14:41","slug":"senate-debates-closest-person-act-amidst-law-and-justice-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/senate-debates-closest-person-act-amidst-law-and-justice-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Debates Closest Person Act Amidst Law and Justice Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Polish Senate is debating the proposed &#8220;Closest Person&#8221; act, which seeks to formalize informal partnerships, while the Law and Justice party calls for the total rejection of the legislation.<\/p>\n<h4>The Scope of the Legislation<\/h4>\n<p>The proposed regulations allow two adults to sign a notarized agreement registered with the Civil Registry Office. This framework would govern property rights, alimony obligations, housing rights, access to medical records, and funeral arrangements, with the option to attach mutual wills.<\/p>\n<p>Proponents, including government officials and human rights advocates, argue that the act provides essential legal security and ensures equal treatment for individuals in informal relationships. Government representative Katarzyna Kotula emphasized that the law specifically excludes provisions regarding children.<\/p>\n<h4>Political Resistance and Constitutional Concerns<\/h4>\n<p>Law and Justice (PiS) senators have filed a motion to reject the bills in their entirety. Critics argue the project redefines marriage without using the term, labels it as a model for unstable relationships, and risks future adoption rights for same-sex couples.<\/p>\n<p>Opposition lawmakers further contend that the proposals conflict with Article 18 of the Polish Constitution, which protects marriage as a union between a woman and a man. Senator Janina Sagatowska characterized the bill as a promotion of egoism and a departure from traditional family values.<\/p>\n<h4>International Comparisons and Next Steps<\/h4>\n<p>During the session, Senator Krzysztof Kwiatkowski dismissed claims that the bill aligns Poland with authoritarian models, urging President Karol Nawrocki to sign the legislation. He challenged the President to prove his commitment to the two million Poles living in informal unions.<\/p>\n<p>The Senate is scheduled to vote on the motion to reject the bills at the end of the current session. If approved without amendments, the legislation will move to the President, who will have 21 days to sign it, veto it, or refer it to the Constitutional Tribunal. The laws are slated to enter into force on January 1, 2027.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Polish Senate is debating the proposed &#8220;Closest Person&#8221; act, which seeks to formalize informal partnerships, while the Law and Justice party calls for the total rejection of the legislation. The Scope of the Legislation The proposed regulations allow two adults to sign a notarized agreement registered with the Civil Registry Office. This framework would [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-and-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}