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The ruling, issued on 28 July, provides new support for Article 18 of the Constitution and blocks the attempt by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government to introduce recognition of such unions celebrated outside Poland through administrative channels.
Article 18 of the Constitution, the core of the decision
The decision is based on Article 18 of the Polish Constitution, which states that “marriage, as the union between a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and fatherhood, shall be under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.”
The case originated after a Polish couple entered into a “marriage” in Berlin and requested that their certificate be registered in Poland’s civil registry. The authorities rejected the request because national legislation does not recognize same-sex marriage.
The couple appealed the decision and, on 25 November 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Poland must recognize these “marriages” celebrated in other European Union Member States.
The Tusk government sought to implement the European ruling
The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which is liberal and in favour of closer alignment with the institutions of the European Union, supported the CJEU ruling and began preparing its implementation.
Although it publicly maintained that the Polish Constitution would continue to be respected and that Brussels could not directly alter the legal definition of marriage, in May it approved an administrative regulation aimed at recognizing “marriages” between persons of the same sex celebrated in other Member States.
The measure was due to enter into force on 23 August. However, the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) challenged the decision before the Constitutional Court, which suspended its application until a final ruling.
The ruling strengthens the conservative bloc
The Constitutional Court’s decision represents a significant setback for Donald Tusk’s government and strengthens the position of the President of the Republic, Karol Nawrocki, a conservative figure backed by PiS, who just eleven days earlier had vetoed two bills promoted by the government to introduce cohabitation contracts for couples living together.
With this ruling, both the President and the Constitutional Court have, for the time being, closed the main avenues used by the government to advance the legal recognition of same-sex unions without amending the Constitution.
The judges concluded that only marriages that conform to the definition set out in Article 18 of the Constitution may be registered in the Polish civil registry.
According to the ruling, any change that would allow the recognition of “marriages” between persons of the same sex would require a constitutional amendment and a comprehensive review of the Family Code and other marriage-related legislation.
The resolution thus reaffirms that no administrative provision can alter the content of Article 18 while it remains in force.
The government attacks the Court
Following the ruling, Donald Tusk’s government reacted by questioning the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digitalisation Krzysztof Gawkowski criticised the decision and claimed that the body chaired by Bogdan Święczkowski seeks to “deprive hundreds, perhaps thousands of people in the future, of the right to happiness.”
With this resolution, the Constitutional Court once again reaffirms the definition of marriage contained in the Polish Constitution and closes, at least for now, the door to the recognition in Poland of “marriages” between persons of the same sex celebrated abroad.