SPECIAL Informat.ro / Recognition of same-sex couples. Poland takes a step forward, Romania remains behind.

The recent decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (NSA), which obliges the state to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex concluded in other EU states, marks a turning point for Central and Eastern Europe. Compared to Poland, Romania finds itself in a paradoxical situation. Although it has legal obligations at least as clear — and, in some respects, broader — their application has been delayed for years.

What did Poland decide? Recognition without legalization

The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland decided on Friday that the Polish state has the obligation to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex concluded in other EU countries, after in 2025, the CJEU ruled that Poland violated the fundamental rights of a married couple of men in Berlin by refusing to recognize the legal effects of the marriage based on domestic legislation.

The case was brought before the courts by two Poles - Jakub Cupriak-Trojan and his partner Mateusz Trojan, who were married in Berlin in 2018.

They wanted to settle in Poland, but faced the refusal of civil status registration in Warsaw, in the context where the Polish Constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The European court (C-713/23 Wojewoda Mazowiecki) established that the member state is obliged to recognize the civil status legally acquired in another EU state, including marriage between persons of the same sex, when rights of free movement and residence are involved.

The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (NSA) has now applied this line of EU law and ruled that marriage between persons of the same sex concluded in another EU state will be recognized by the Polish state, without Poland being obliged to open the option of gay marriage in national law. "The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland has decided that EU law requires civil status registries in Poland to record marriages between persons of the same sex concluded abroad. Therefore, the only way to fulfill this obligation is their transcription, which falls under the competence of each Civil Status Office in Poland," explained the Accept Association on its Facebook page.

What do the CJEU decisions say in the case of Romania

In the EU context, Romania is affected by two important legal lines. In 2018, the CJEU ruled, in the case of the couple Relu Adrian Coman and Clabourn Hamilton married in 2010 in Brussels, that Romania must recognize the same-sex partner as a family member to allow him the right of residence on Romanian territory, although the Romanian Civil Code prohibits gay marriages. The second concerns Romania's refusal to change the first name, gender, and CNP in the Romanian identity documents through an administrative procedure for Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi – the transgender man with dual citizenship, Romanian and British. Specifically, the first decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union refers to Romania's obligation to recognize, for the exercise of the right of free movement, the same-sex partner of a legally married EU citizen in another member state (such as Belgium) as a "family member", even if domestic legislation does not recognize marriages between persons of the same sex. The second decision concerns the situation of a transgender person (such as Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi), establishing that a member state cannot refuse to change identity data (first name, gender, and personal code) to reflect the legal recognition of gender change in another EU state, as this would affect the rights conferred by EU citizenship and free movement.

Romania, obliged by the ECHR to adopt civil partnership legislation

If European jurisprudence on free movement leaves a certain degree of flexibility to states, the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights go further.

In 2023, in the case of Buhuceanu and others vs Romania, the European Court of Human Rights decided that Romania violates the right to family life by lacking any form of legal recognition of same-sex couples.

Thus, the CJEU decision states that Romania already has obligations to recognize the effects of gay marriages in other EU states when EU rights (residence, permits, family derivatives) are involved, while the ECHR has taken a step further and obliges Romania to adopt a legal form of recognition for same-sex couples (not just ad hoc residence solutions).

The ECHR does not obligate Romania to legalize marriage between persons of the same sex, but obliges it to create a legal framework that recognizes and protects such couples, namely by adopting legislation — of the civil partnership type or equivalent.

Moreover, the CJEU ruling in the case C-713/23 Wojewoda Mazowiecki has a direct impact on Romania: Romania is obliged to recognize the effects of marriages between persons of the same sex legally concluded in other EU states, to the extent that it concerns EU rights (free movement, residence, family protection, etc.) On the other hand, the fundamental difference compared to Poland is that Romania must not only recognize limited legal effects but must build an entire legal framework.

Romania: the same legal framework as Poland, limited implementation

In theory, Romania is under the same obligations as Poland. In practice, however, things are different.

According to the ACCEPT organization, in Romania, the procedure for transcribing marriages concluded abroad is usually applied to heterosexual couples, but is denied in the case of same-sex couples, creating a discriminatory practice.

"Like Poland, Romania has a single procedure for recognizing marriages concluded abroad: transcription. This procedure is automatically used for heterosexual families but discriminatorily denied to same-sex families. The CJEU ruling makes this practice explicitly contrary to EU law. Romania can no longer claim that it has no legislation because EU law and CJEU jurisprudence apply directly and with priority, despite the fact that currently the Civil Code prohibits the transcription of marriages between persons of the same sex," stated ACCEPT last year, after the CJEU decision.

Transcription of marriage certificates is generally refused, and recognition only occurs sporadically — for example, in matters of residence rights, following litigation.

Political blockage in Romania

Despite these obligations, developments in Romania have been slow.

After the CJEU decision and its validation by the CCR in 2018, the state has applied the provisions only to the strictly necessary extent — especially regarding residence rights. No broader reforms have been adopted.

After the ECHR ruling in 2023, the reaction was even more reserved. The Romanian state initially contested the decision and subsequently did not adopt any law to respond to the Court's requirements. Currently, the case is under the monitoring of the Council of Europe, indicating a delay in fulfilling obligations. Thus, Romania finds itself in a situation of "minimal compliance": it respects only those aspects that cannot be avoided, postponing structural changes.

Poland vs. Romania

​Poland, although perceived as more conservative, is beginning to apply European jurisprudence through its courts. The recent decision shows a willingness, albeit limited, towards recognition.

Romania, in contrast, has a comparable legal framework — and even additional obligations from the ECHR — but does not transpose them into legislation or administrative practice.

The case of Poland shows that change can also come from the judiciary, even in the absence of explicit political will. Romania, however, offers a different example: although all legal elements are already present — decisions of the CCR, CJEU, and ECHR — their transformation into public policies is delayed.

"Romania is a clear example: the Coman & Hamilton decision from 2018 is still not correctly implemented today. Therefore, it is an important victory. The Supreme Administrative Court of Poland confirmed the CJEU decision and annulled all previous rulings and administrative decisions that blocked transcription. Now, the Civil Status Office should transcribe the marriage certificate of the claimants, opening the way for other Polish families whose marriage is unrecognized," shows a statement from Accept on its Facebook page from Friday.

An INSCOP survey from 2025 indicates that 68.1% of Romanians oppose the legal recognition of same-sex couples, and only about 20% would be open to a limited form of recognition, similar to civil partnership. On the other hand, according to a survey conducted by Cult Research for the ACCEPT Association in 2024, 56% of Romanians agree with the legal recognition of same-sex families (marriage or civil partnership), and 72% say they would lose nothing if these families had equal rights.

A petition to ask the Romanian Parliament to adopt civil partnership, recently initiated, has gathered over 31,000 signatures.

Analysis conducted with the help of Perplexity.