On 15 November 2025, a landmark judgment was issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), establishing that Member States of the European Union are obliged to transcribe marriage certificates of same-sex couples who legally married in another Member State while exercising their freedom of movement and building their family life there.
Representatives of our Association participated in a press conference devoted to this issue, emphasizing that the judgment sends a clear signal to those in power that Poland can no longer remain a relic of the past within Europe. In sixteen EU Member States, same-sex couples can legally marry, start families, and live with dignity and security under the full protection of the law. In another six EU countries, more or less comprehensive civil partnership frameworks have been introduced. Meanwhile, our country continues to pretend that rainbow families do not exist, turning a blind eye to the real problems faced by millions of its citizens.
Crossing the border of a Member State within the European Union cannot change a person’s marital status when they travel, move, or relocate within the Union. This is an absurdity that the CJEU rightly recognized. Changing the civil status of EU citizens depending on geographic latitude not only creates numerous risks in the daily and family lives of those concerned, but may also lead to legal complications and abuses, including the risk of bigamy.
As a community, we have appealed to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration to immediately develop solutions aimed at implementing the CJEU judgment. This includes adapting IT systems and official marriage certificate templates so that all marriages concluded abroad by Polish citizens can be entered into national registers, regardless of the spouses’ gender or sexual orientation. We remind the government that respect for international law and the primacy of EU law over national law is a fundamental principle of the rule of law — a principle that the current governing coalition invoked during the election campaign. We therefore demand that Polish legislation be brought in line with standards that apply in the majority of EU countries, namely the introduction of full marriage equality. In the face of the deepening crisis of the institution of marriage and the demographic crisis, every loving couple should be able to safely and proudly start a family. Values such as freedom, equality, tolerance, respect, and human rights are the foundation of the European Union. Poland would do well to remember this.
We will continue to pressure as long as necessary. We will closely monitor all those responsible for implementing the judgment. A lack of decisive and immediate action will be met with a response from our community – both at the national and international level. Therefore, to the government we say: have courage. We call for decency and adherence to the principles that govern a modern, law-abiding state. We will not allow this judgment to be swept under the rug.
Queerowy Maj also actively participated in the session of the Kraków City Council dedicated to a resolution addressed to the Minister of Digital Affairs and the Minister of the Interior and Administration, calling for immediate steps to implement the CJEU judgment. During the session, representatives of numerous non-governmental organizations working in the field of human rights delivered speeches. Among them were Paweł Jemioło, President of the Queerowy Maj Association, and Justyna Bołoz, Vice-President of the Association.
The vote on the resolution ultimately did not take place due to a sudden appeal addressed to the above-mentioned ministries by Aleksander Miszalski, the Mayor of Kraków.
We continue to closely monitor this matter in order to take all necessary actions that may contribute to the effective implementation of the CJEU judgment.