In another setback for the European LGBT movement, Poland’s Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that same-sex “marriages” performed abroad cannot be recognized in Poland because the Constitution recognizes marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
The July 28 ruling comes just 11 days after President Karol Nawrocki vetoed two bills that would have recognized “cohabitation contracts” for couples who live together on the same grounds.
Article 18 of the Polish Constitution states: “Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.”
On November 25, 2025, the European Union’s Court of Justice ruled that Poland must recognize same-sex “marriages” conducted in other EU member states. The case began when a homosexual Polish couple got “married” in Berlin and requested the transcription of their certificate into Poland’s civil registry. This was denied because Polish law does not recognize same-sex “marriage.” The couple sued, and the court ruled in their favor.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s progressive coalition government backed the court, but took pains to assure the public that the EU could not dictate Polish law (as it was clearly attempting to do) and that the Polish Constitution would be respected. Tusk, who has been waging an extralegal war on Poland’s conservative laws since taking office, added that “respecting tribunals” was also fundamental.
The government has been careful about openly backing a change to Poland’s marriage laws, but their presidential candidate – who lost to Nawrocki – referred to same-sex civil unions as a “logical first step.” Toward what? To ask the question is to answer it. Tusk has been livid at Nawrocki’s vetoes, but that is because the president understands their tactics and their end goal. Poland’s LGBT activists seek to undermine Article 18 before they overturn it.
Initially, it appeared that the incremental strategy was working. Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled in March that same-sex “marriages” contracted outside the country should be recognized by the government, essentially affirming the EU court’s judgement. In May, the government issued a regulation to begin the change administratively, and the ruling was set to take effect on August 23, but the opposition Law and Justice Party successfully appealed to the Constitutional Court.
The three judges held that foreign marriage certificates could only be transcribed if the unions met the definition of marriage under Poland’s constitution. To change this – that is, begin to hollow out Article 18 – would take a constitutional amendment and sweeping legislative change that would include an overhaul of the Family Code.
In response, Tusk’s government launched a direct attack on the legitimacy of the court itself. “Mr. Święczkowski’s illegal tribunal wants to deprive hundreds, perhaps thousands in the future, of the right to happiness,” stated Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski. “They expected that the law would be the law in Poland and that no political influence would matter.” Gawkowksi was referring to Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski.
Gawkowski continued by stating that his government will ignore the ruling – precisely the sort of disregard for the rule of law that progressive commentators repeatedly accused Poland’s previous conservative government of exhibiting. “Today, Mr. Święczkowski is throwing this opportunity for dignity into the trash, but no one will respect the rulings of the illegal Constitutional Tribunal,” he said. “Work on the regulation on transcription support will continue, and we will not stop there.”
“I am publicly accusing Mr. Święczkowski of violating the Constitution. He is violating Article 30 of the Constitution, the article on human dignity,” Gawkowski said. By definition, however, Gawkowski is violating the Constitution and attempting to circumvent Poland’s top court – and in the process, he is again revealing the government’s ultimate goal: the elimination of Article 18 of the Polish Constitution on the grounds of “human dignity.”