The court said that this refusal violated both the right to free movement within the EU and the right to respect for private and family life.

The two men married in Berlin in 2018 and requested the registration of their marriage certificate upon returning to Poland. Polish authorities refused, as the country does not allow same-sex marriage. A Polish court then referred the case to the EU court.

The couple’s lawyer called the ruling “historic” and expects that Poland’s highest administrative court will now have to recognise the German marriage certificate.

The EU court emphasised that member states are not obliged to allow same-sex marriage under their national law. However, they cannot treat foreign same-sex marriages differently from heterosexual ones, for example when citizens return to their country of origin.

In Poland, where the government is working on a law for civil partnerships, expanding LGBT+ rights still faces political resistance. The conservative coalition partner and President Karol Nawrocki have previously said they oppose the legal recognition of same-sex marriages.