CJEU rules that Member States must recognize same-sex marriages validly contracted in another EU Member State

Author: Miguel Quintero

Introduction

Currently, a little more than half of the Member States of the European Union, that is, 15 out of 27, recognize and permit same-sex marriage. The remaining 12 still do not admit this form of marriage in their domestic legal systems. Jurisprudential developments in this field are therefore particularly significant. 

On 25 November 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its judgment in Case C-713/23, Wojewoda Mazowiecki, extending to marriage records its existing case law on the recognition, by other Member States, of civil-status acts obtained in another EU country, such as surname registration or gender identity amendments (notably the Pancharevo judgment of 14 December 2021). 

The judgment concerns situations in which the Member State of origin, meaning the State of birth, does not recognize same-sex marriages. The ruling strengthens the protection of the rights to family life and ensures that the exercise of free movement and residence within the EU is not undermined by discriminatory administrative practices. 

The Court held that Member States must recognize same-sex marriages validly celebrated in another Member State when such marriage results from the exercise of free movement rights and when family life has been established in that other State. 

Until 2018, CJEU case law, specifically the Coman ruling, required Member States to recognize such marriages solely for the purposes of free movement, without imposing consequences on internal personal-status law. In 2025, however, the Court found that the complete absence of recognition in the Member State of origin constitutes a restriction on the rights to free movement and residence and significantly affects the right to family life. 

Background of the case 

The case arose from a request for a preliminary ruling (a mechanism through which national courts ask the CJEU to interpret EU law) submitted by the Polish Supreme Administrative Court, which asked the CJEU two core questions: 

• Whether a Member State whose domestic law does not allow same-sex marriage may refuse to recognize a marriage validly celebrated in another Member State. 

• Whether it may likewise refuse to transcribe (i.e., record the foreign marriage) in its civil registry, when such transcription is necessary for the marriage to produce legal effects internally or to allow the spouses to exercise rights in another Member State where they intend to reside. 

EU legal basis of the decision 

The judgment is grounded in: 

• The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, concerning EU citizenship and the right to free movement and residence (Articles 20 and 21). 

  
  

• The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which protects private and family life and prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation (Articles 7 and 21). 

Key findings of the Court 

The Court concluded that a refusal to recognize or transcribe such a marriage violates EU law, as it prevents or makes excessively difficult the exercise of rights derived from free movement and severely affects family life. 

Three core principles stand out: 

1. Effectiveness of EU rights: Requiring spouses to live as unmarried in their State of origin, and consequently in any other Member State where they may seek to reside, frustrates the effectiveness of the rights of free movement and residence. 

2. Proportionality and non-discrimination: National administrative practices cannot create disproportionate obstacles nor introduce distinctions based on sexual orientation. 

3. Transcription as a necessary mechanism: When transcription is the only method by which essential internal legal effects may be produced for the exercise of EU-derived rights, it must be carried out without discrimination relative to marriages validly celebrated in other Member States. 

   
   

Scope and limitations of the judgment 

The decision does not oblige Member States to recognize same-sex marriage for the purposes of their internal substantive family law. The definition of personal-status rules, including marriage, remains in principle a matter of national competence. 

However, the CJEU clarifies that the exercise of that competence must comply with EU law. Thus, national authorities may not deny recognition of a civil-status act that is valid in another Member State when such denial undermines the effectiveness of EU free-movement and family-life rights. 

Where no alternative effective mechanism exists, Member States must provide for transcription, without discrimination and without such transcription implying domestic recognition of same-sex marriage as an institution of national law.

Relationship with European human-rights jurisprudence 

This judgment is consistent with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), notably the judgments Przybyszewska and Others v. Poland and Fedotova and Others v. Russia, both from 2023, where the ECtHR found that States have a positive obligation to provide a legal framework offering appropriate recognition and protection to same-sex couples. 

Similarly, the CJEU builds upon the landmark Coman ruling (C-673/16), strengthening legal certainty for same-sex families living and moving within the European Union. 

Practical implications 

• For couples 

The judgment ensures that the change in personal status arising from a marriage celebrated in another Member State may be recognized in the State of origin and, consequently, in any other Member State where the couple may wish to reside, safeguarding the continuity of their family life. 

• For national authorities 

Civil-registry procedures must be adjusted to avoid discriminatory practices and to remove administrative obstacles that compromise the effectiveness of free-movement rights. Authorities must adopt proportionate and non-discriminatory criteria. 

Conclusion 

This judgment represents a significant step forward in protecting families formed by same-sex couples within the European Union. By guaranteeing that the exercise of free-movement and residence rights is not rendered ineffective through discriminatory administrative practices, the CJEU strengthens legal certainty and equality in everyday European life. 

The Court underscores that balancing national competence over personal-status matters with the effectiveness of EU law requires administrative mechanisms that ensure, in a practical and non-discriminatory manner, the recognition of the essential effects of civil-status acts validly constituted in another Member State.

Official source 

Judgment of the Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) of 25 November 2025. 

Follow-up note 

Administrative implementation may require internal guidance from each Member State. We will update this article once the full judgment and any national instructions become available. 

It remains to be seen whether States such as Poland will adopt transcription procedures identical to those applied to heterosexual marriages, or whether alternative mechanisms specifically for same-sex marriages will emerge. 

By: Miguel Quintero