Gay marriage in poland

same-sex marriage europe

Same-sex marriage is not recognized, and Article 18 of the Constitution of Poland states that "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." [34]. Poland does not legally recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

In , the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have limited legal rights with regard to the tenancy of a shared household. However, it is essential to recognize that the legal status of LGBTQ individuals in Poland varies, with homosexuality being legal but same-sex marriage not recognized. For both local residents and tourists, the landscape of LGBT rights in Poland can be quite complex to navigate.

The new government of Prime Minister Tusk has promised to introduce legislation that would legalize civil unions in Poland, one of the few nations in Europe that doesn't recognize them. Support for civil marriage of same-sex couples is also at a record high: 37% of those asked are in favor, and it’s only getting higher ever since. In January , LGBT-free zones made up 30% of Poland’s territory. The Strasbourg Court has ordered Poland to recognize the rights of same-sex couples.

The denial of civil unions and marriage equality is discrimination. The ruling states that Poland has violated the Convention and has an obligation to introduce legal protection for same-sex couples. The form of this protection shall be appropriate and shall protect same-sex couples effectively. But most importantly, it marks the end of a court battle by five gay and lesbian couples who are demanding equal treatment from Poland.

Our Coalition is a testament to the fact that when politicians fail, ordinary people take matters into their own hands and successfully fight for their rights. The tenacious persistence of these five couples has shaken the state.

As of today, we start living in a new reality in which the roles have reversed. Same-sex couples no longer have to ask to be recognized in court or in an office. We became hopeful that we may live to see the moment when the state finally acknowledges our year relationship after all. This is important to us for practical reasons — security in our daily lives — but also for symbolic reasons: so we can finally feel that the state treats us on an equal footing with other citizens.

We are very happy about this verdict. We hope that it will set in motion a whole avalanche of good changes in Poland in terms of the rights of all non-heteronormative people, and that finally our state and the new authorities will take us seriously. We have been waiting for this day for a very long time.

The years of the Law and Justice PiS government were especially harsh — an excruciatingly long time of constant viciousness against us and of spreading hate speech with impunity. We hope that genuinely good changes are coming and that we will soon be able to feel dignified and safe in our homeland. We want to finally formalize our year relationship in the same way as different-sex couples do.

The judgment said that by denying same-sex couples legal recognition of their unions, Poland is violating their right to respect for family life. The Court called on Poland to redress this damage by introducing appropriate legislative changes as soon as possible, without specifying what exact form they should take. I can only envision a positive outcome: the Polish authorities are obliged to effectively implement this judgment by changing Polish law.

The Court has already ruled in similar cases brought against Italy in , Russia, Romania, and Bulgaria this year , and found that the plaintiff couples were right to demand legal safeguards from their countries. Shortly after the ruling, Italy introduced civil unions that grant same-sex couples some of the rights available to married couples.

What do NGOs expect from the Polish authorities? Support for civil unions has been above this threshold for years. A draft bill on marriage equality has also been prepared. Today, the Court made it clear that safeguarding the rights of same-sex couples in Poland is not a matter of discretion, but the duty of politicians. The divide is even deeper when one looks just at the European Union, where only five countries do not allow same-sex couples to formalize their relationships.

Married same-sex and different-sex couples in those countries have the same rights and obligations. Each of these countries offers a different set of rights, but one that is always more limited than marriage. Attempts to grant rights to same-sex couples have been underway in Poland for more than 20 years. Several widely different draft bills on civil unions and one on marriage equality have been submitted to the Polish parliament, the Sejm, which has either rejected or not proceeded with them at all.

In , the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the Constitution does not prohibit the introduction of civil unions or marriage equality.