Recognition of same-sex unions in Poland

Article 18 of the Polish Constitution,[1] adopted in 1997, was frequently interpreted as banning same-sex marriage,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] but a 2022 court ruling states that it does not preclude its recognition.

[12][13] In December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Przybyszewska and Others v. Poland that Poland was violating Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by not recognizing same-sex unions, and placed a positive obligation on the government to introduce a same-sex partnership law and recognise unions legally contracted abroad.

[16][17] Historical research has shown that during the time of the Second Polish Republic some couples established "marriage contracts" and lived together in joint households.

While their relationship lacked formal legal status and was kept confidential, the pair entered into a de facto agreement grounded in fidelity, an expectation of enduring commitment, and a "friendship for life oath".

In addition, article 3.1(2) of the Patients' Rights Act of 6 November 2008 allows a person to be considered as "next of kin" for medical purposes if their partner suffers an accident or is seriously ill.

[24][25][26][27][28][29] On 23 February 2007, the Białystok Regional Court dealt with the resolution of a financial dispute concerning the division of assets between two same-sex partners after the end of their relationship.

[35] With regard to tenancy rights, the Warsaw Court of Appeal ruled on 26 June 2014 that:[36] There are no convincing reasons in the case-law or any sociological or psychological arguments in favour of distinguishing on a legal basis between the effects resulting from heterosexual and homosexual cohabitation (konkubinat); on the contrary, the emotional, physical and economic bonds arising from such cohabitation are the same in both cases and can create an equally strong bond.

[39] Only two parties, the Democratic Left Alliance – Labour Union and the Social Democracy of Poland, supported the bill, while Civic Platform (PO), the League of Polish Families and Law and Justice (PiS) opposed it.

In 2008, another bill was drafted by the opposition Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), but was eventually not introduced to the Parliament of Poland due to its low chances of success.

[41] In June 2009, gay and lesbian organisations submitted a petition calling for the legalization of registered partnerships to the Speaker of the Sejm, Bronisław Komorowski.

[44] In January 2010, the opposition SLD, in consultation with LGBT organisations, prepared a draft law on registered partnerships, modelled on the bill approved by the Senate in 2004 and similar to the French civil solidarity pact (PACS).

Regarding the relationships of same-sex couples, it stated that the admissibility and scope of any statutory regulation required an analysis taking into account international legal obligations, and considering the implications of recent judgments by the European Court of Human Rights.

[64][65][66] MEP Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz described the adoption of the law on civil partnerships as one of her priorities, though she added that the ideal would be the introduction of same-sex marriage.

[68] Separately, a government report, entitled "Poland 2030 Third wave of modernity – Long-term National Development Strategy", stated that an objective for the five-year period to 2015 would be the equalization of rights for unmarried couples.

The PO also intended to introduce its own bill, which would be similar to the French PACS law but include some additional differences between civil unions and marriages.

[88][89] The court had already issued similar rulings with respect to Romania in Buhuceanu and Others, Russia in Fedotova and Others, Bulgaria in Koilova and Babulkova, and Ukraine in Maymulakhin and Markiv.

This case centered on a lesbian couple in Gdańsk who had entered into a civil partnership in Scotland and sought recognition of their union in Poland.

On 27 December 2023, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that a bill to legalise same-sex unions would be introduced and debated in the Sejm in early 2024, in line with a pledge made during his campaign in the 2023 election.

[94] In October, the Archbishop of Warsaw, Kazimierz Nycz, expressed his support for civil partnerships and said "that the Church will not interfere in the legislative process".

"[5] On 25 October 2016, the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland stated that:[6] The Act on Publicly Funded Healthcare Benefits does not explain, however, who is a spouse.

But this concept is sufficiently and clearly defined in the aforementioned Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which refers to marriage as a union between a woman and a man.

[7] Specifically, the court ruled that registering same-sex marriages performed outside of Poland would breach the Constitution and the Private International Law Act (Polish: Ustawa z dnia 4 lutego 2011 r. Prawo prywatne międzynarodowe).

Seeking to test the legal wording, a same-sex couple, Jakub Kwieciński and Dawid Mycek, applied to have their marriage, performed in Portugal in June 2017, recognised in Poland.

Their application was rejected by the civil registry in Warsaw, which cited Article 18 of the Constitution and argued that "transcribing the marriage certificate of two persons of the same sex would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the legal order of the Republic of Poland".

[110] On 5 June 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of a Romanian-American same-sex couple who sought to have their marriage recognised in Romania so that the American partner could reside in the country.

This may be due to a significant increase of cultural liberalism in the realm of individual rights in recent years, where the Church traditionally had most influence, especially on family issues.

[135] This marked a decrease from a TNS OBOP poll two years earlier, when 54% of respondents expressed support for same-sex registered partnerships.

[142][143] A 2018 IBRiS (Instytut Badań Rynkowych i Społecznych) poll showed that 59% of Poles supported recognising same-sex marriages validly performed abroad, whilst 30% were opposed.

Of countries forming the former Eastern Bloc (excluding East Germany), Poland ranked second in support for same-sex marriage, after the Czech Republic.

[151] A 2023 Pew Research Center poll showed that 41% of Poles supported same-sex marriage (28% "somewhat" and 13% "strongly"), a 9% increase from six years prior.