The unilateral move by Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski and the Left’s false start. A draft regulation changing the templates of civil-status documents has triggered a serious crisis within the Council of Ministers. A dispute is simmering over whether a social revolution can be introduced “through the back door,” without statutory approval from the Sejm.
“I signed documents today that launch the process of changing the templates of civil-status records so that the state functions efficiently and equally toward all citizens. The regulation on the templates of documents issued in the field of civil-status registration will make it possible to transcribe foreign marriage certificates of same-sex couples concluded in other European Union countries and will allow the technical preparation of systems and the marriage register. The draft regulation is entering the government track today,” Minister Gawkowski (The Left) boasted on platform X on January 16.
The draft regulation provides, among other things, for the introduction of “gender-neutral” terms such as “first spouse” and “second spouse.” Such solutions raise enormous doubts, including constitutional ones.
Resistance Within the Government
As it turns out, the regulation is “dead”—there is no consent within the government to introduce it in its current form. The strongest resistance comes from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, headed by Marcin Kierwiński. Notably, Gawkowski’s regulation is also opposed by the Ministry of Justice.
“Our position is clear and we are presenting it to our coalition partners. There is no consent to this regulation. A comprehensive statute regulating same-sex marriages is needed; that is where appropriate solutions should be located. We will not lend a hand to bringing into force a regulation in the form presented by Gawkowski,” sources in the government from ministries led by politicians of the Civic Coalition and the Polish People’s Party (PSL) told the Niezależna.pl portal.
Asked for an official stance, the Ministry of the Interior and Administration wrote that “analyses are underway regarding the legal effects of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling.” The Ministry of Justice is also in no hurry.
“With regard to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of November 25, 2025, in case C-713/23 Wojewoda Mazowiecki, the Ministry of Justice has not yet formulated a position on the effects of this judgment for Polish law. Analyses and internal consultations are ongoing (opinions have been sought, among others, from the Codification Commission for Family Law and the Codification Commission for Civil Law),” the ministry’s press office told the portal.
Although Article 18 of the Constitution clearly states that marriage, as a union of a woman and a man, is under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland, Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek has presented a markedly different interpretation.
Downplaying the views of many constitutional scholars, the head of the justice ministry said in November:
“But the Constitution does not actually say anything and does not prohibit same-sex marriages.”
The minister announced that “it is possible to change the law on civil-status records,” arguing that “as a rule, we do have to amend statutes, because case law sets these new directions for us.” He, too, favors statutory changes.
Gawkowski wanted to put the government and other ministries against the wall by submitting an unconsulted regulation and imposing his narrative. “That’s not how we will operate. For now, this is an author’s project without broader acceptance—and nothing more,” government sources insist.