Europe Asia News

The court stated on Tuesday that Poland was wrong not to recognize the couple’s marriage upon their return, arguing that Polish law does not permit marriage between people of the same sex.

The Court of Justice of the EU said: “This situation violates not only freedom of movement and residence but also the right to respect for private and family life.”

In Poland, where the majority of the population is Catholic, the fight for LGBT+ equality has for years been portrayed by those in power as a dangerous foreign ideology. However, the current government is working on a draft law regulating civil partnerships, including same-sex unions.

The European Court of Human Rights issued a binding decision at the request of a Polish court handling the case of two men who challenged the refusal to register their German marriage certificate in Poland’s civil records.

The couple, who married in Berlin in 2018, were identified only by their initials in the case file. Their lawyer declined to comment on the ruling.

The court said that EU citizens have the freedom to move to other member states and to live a “normal family life” both there and upon their return to their home country.