Civil registry offices in Poland are obliged to register same-sex marriages abroad, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski announced on Friday, after signing an order to this effect.
“Judgments are always enforced,” Kierwinski wrote on X following a historic decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Last week, the Warsaw city hall recognized for the first time the marriage between two men, concluded in Berlin in 2018, DPA and Agerpres note.
To obtain this recognition, the couple turned to the CJEU, a court based in Luxembourg.
Polish authorities initially refused to register the marriage in the civil registry when the couple moved to Poland, as the Polish Constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
However, the CJEU ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ruling in November that the European Union states must recognize same-sex marriages contracted in a member state.
EU citizens must have the certainty that they can continue their family life in any EU country, within the framework of freedom of movement, the CJEU judges decided.
In March, the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland transposed the CJEU decision into national legislation, requiring the recognition by the Polish state of same-sex marriages contracted in another European Union state.
The order signed by Minister Kierwinski will enter into force within three months of its publication and will be binding for all civil status offices.
