In its recent judgment, delivered on 25 November 2025 in case C-713/23, Wojewoda Mazowiecki, the Court of Justice of the European Union reaffirmed and clarified the obligations of Member States to recognise civil-status documents involving same-sex couples when such recognition is necessary for the effective exercise of EU free-movement rights. The case concerned the refusal of Polish authorities to recognise a same-sex marriage lawfully concluded in Germany by two Polish citizens. The referring court asked whether this refusal was compatible with Articles 20 and 21 TFEU, as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
The Court reaffirmed that, although the definition of marriage falls within the competence of Member States, this competence must be exercised in compliance with EU law whenever a situation falls within the scope of the Treaties. A Member State cannot rely on its own constitutional or statutory definition of marriage to deprive Union citizens of the practical ability to move and reside freely within the EU with their family members.
In reaching its conclusion, the Court expressly built upon its established case law. In Coman, it held that the term “spouse” in EU free-movement law includes same-sex spouses for the purpose of residence rights. In Pancharevo, it ruled that a Member State must recognise a parent–child relationship established abroad in order not to hinder a child’s free-movement rights. In Mirin, the Court again stressed that administrative recognition for free-movement purposes does not require a Member State to modify its substantive family law; rather, it requires only functional recognition to ensure that EU citizenship rights are effective.
Consistent with these precedents, the Court held that the Member State in the present case is required to recognise the foreign marriage for the limited purpose of enabling the spouses to exercise EU free-movement rights, without obliging it to alter the national concept of marriage. The refusal therefore constituted an unjustified restriction on EU citizenship rights.