European justice requires recognition of same-sex marriages contracted in another country

BarcelonaNew ruling from the European Court of Justice in favor of LGBTIQ+ rights. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled this Tuesday that marriages performed in one member state must be recognized in any other country within the EU. The Luxembourg-based court determined that a state administration's refusal to recognize such a marriage is "contrary to European Union law."

The case that reached the highest court in the European Union concerns two Polish citizens who married in Germany and, upon their return to Poland, requested the transcription of their marriage certificate in the Polish Civil Registry. However, the Polish authorities denied the request, arguing that European legislation does not include same-sex marriage.

The CJEU's response to the Polish court's preliminary ruling is clear, stating that denying recognition of a legally performed marriage "violates the freedom of movement and residence, and the right to respect for private and family life." "Therefore, member states are obliged to recognize, for the purposes of exercising the rights conferred by the EU, marital status legally acquired in another member state," the ruling states.

However, the Luxembourg court also clarifies that this ruling does not in any way oblige all European Union member states that have not legalized same-sex marriage, such as Poland, to include it in their legislation. Furthermore, the CJEU points out that each member state has some leeway in choosing the conditions it imposes when recognizing a marriage contracted in another EU country. However, the European court clarifies that this does not mean that state administrations can "prevent or excessively hinder this recognition" in general, nor on the grounds of sexual orientation.