The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rules that Poland’s failure to recognize same-sex couples violates its obligations to human rights

In the case of Przybyszewska and Others v. Poland, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case involved five same-sex couples who had all attempted to obtain formal recognition of their relationships from the civil registry office and were denied by Polish authorities.

The court found that Poland’s failure to provide a legal framework for the recognition and protection of the couples’ unions created significant hardship. These hardships included the inability to regulate important aspects of their lives, such as property, taxation and the rights and duties of mutual assistance.

The Court considered that Poland had failed to comply with its duty to ensure that the applicants had a specific legal framework providing for the recognition and protection of their same-sex unions.

Associate Mikolaj Pietrzak represented one of the couples in the nine yearlong litigation.