The Polish government is removing the words “man” and “woman” from marriage certificate templates as it moves to implement a binding European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling, despite previously insisting that claims Brussels was overruling Polish sovereignty were an “untruth” and that the judgment “cannot force a change in Polish law.”
A draft regulation submitted to the government replaces sex-specific fields in civil status documents with gender-neutral terms such as “first spouse” and “second spouse,” clearing the way for the transcription of same-sex marriages legally concluded in other EU member states.
The changes are presented as the practical implementation of a November 2025 judgment of the EU’s top court, which obliges member states to recognize such marriages for the purposes of EU law.
In a press release sent to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) and cited by Onet Wiadomości, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said the amendments are necessary to adapt Polish civil registers and administrative systems to EU requirements. The ministry stressed that the changes are technical in nature and do not alter the definition of marriage under Polish law.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski said the government was acting on a legal obligation arising from EU membership. “Poland has an obligation to recognize same-sex marriages legally concluded in other EU countries. This is a law that we must and want to apply – the CJEU ruling is clear,” he wrote on X. He added that updating civil status records would allow the state to operate “efficiently and equally towards all citizens,” calling equal treatment “a matter of dignity, but also the stability of existing families.”
According to the Ministry of Digital Affairs, refusing to enter such marriages in the Polish civil status register breaches EU law, including the principles of equal treatment and freedom of movement and residence. The ministry reiterated that the EU court made clear that member states are not required to introduce same-sex marriage into their national law, but cannot refuse to recognize marriages lawfully concluded in another EU country.
The November judgment stemmed from the case of two Polish men who married in Berlin in 2018 and sought transcription of their German marriage certificate after returning to Poland. Polish authorities rejected the request on the grounds that domestic law does not allow same-sex marriage, prompting the Supreme Administrative Court to seek guidance from the EU court.
European judges ruled that such refusals are incompatible with EU law, warning that they may cause “serious inconvenience at administrative, professional and private levels” and infringe EU citizens’ rights to free movement and family life.
Following the ruling, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said interpretations claiming the EU was imposing its legislation on Poland were false, arguing that the judgment alone “cannot force a change in Polish law.”
He said at the time that the government would determine how to handle the decision only after further analysis by relevant ministries. The draft regulation now before the government marks the first concrete step in applying the ruling in practice.
