Rights, EU Court: “Same-sex marriage in another State must be recognized”

Brussels, 25 Nov. (LaPresse) – A Member State is obliged to recognize a marriage between two Union citizens of the same sex, legally contracted in another Member State in which they exercised their freedom of movement and residence. This was decided by the Court of Justice of the EU. The case concerns two Polish citizens, married in Germany, who had requested that their marriage certificate be entered in the Polish civil register so that their marriage would be recognized in Poland. The competent authorities rejected their request, arguing that Polish law does not allow marriage between persons of the same sex. The Court of Justice, in response to a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by a national court, finds that the refusal to recognize a marriage between two Union citizens, legally contracted in another Member State in which they exercised their freedom of movement and residence, is contrary to Union law, as it violates that freedom and the right to respect for private and family life. Member States are therefore required to recognize, for the purpose of exercising the rights conferred by Union law, civil status legally acquired in another Member State.