Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled on March 20 that the country should recognize same-sex marriages, which are legal in other European Union countries.
Last November, the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland’s refusal to allow them to marry a German national.
The couple, who live in Poland, filed a lawsuit in a Polish court in 2019, and the Supreme Administrative Court referred the case to the EU Court of Justice.
“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court clearly shows that Poland, as a member state of the European Union, must comply with European Union law,” Przemek Walas, advocacy manager at Polish LGBTQ advocacy group Campaign Against Homophobia, said in a statement. “The Supreme Administrative Court duly upheld the interpretation of the Luxembourg court and suggested that the only way to implement this judgment is to allow the transcription of foreign marriage certificates.”
“While this ruling is an important step towards marital equality, it is certainly not enough,” Walas added.
Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia, Malta, Greece, Sweden, Finland and Estonia are EU member states that have extended full marriage rights to same-sex couples. Poland is one of four EU countries, along with Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, that does not legally recognize same-sex couples.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
