Polish Case at EP Comt. for Petitions
01/06/2010
Submitted by
Greg Czarnecki
The Committee on Petitions (PETI) has agreed to further look into the discriminatory practices of Polish Registry Offices which refuse to issue certificates of marital status to Polish citizens who wish to enter a same-sex union in another EU country.
KPH (Campaign Against Homophobia) has been monitoring this situation for years as it has received numerous complaints from Polish gays and lesbians who want to either enter a domestic partnership or get married in another EU country to a person of the same sex. To enter into such a union they are required to prove they are not married in Poland. The Registry Office refuses them this certificate when it becomes clear that they are lesbian or gay.
KPH had sent a petition to the PETI to take up this case and received the support of the international law firm Arnold & Porter LLP in the form of an amicus curiae who argued that this is a violation of the freedom of movement as well as the right to respect of privacy and family life.
On May 31, Krzysztof Smiszek, head of the KPH Legal Group, presented our petition to the PETI’s Members. The Committee voted unanimously in favor of further examination of the issue and will request a report on the matter from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament.
The representative of the European Commission (EC) present at the session claimed that the Commission is “sympathetic” to the fate of gays and lesbians, but does not see any competencies of the EC in this matter and mistook the petition as dealing with the recognition by Poland of same-sex unions.
PETI member Ermiona Mazzoni however stood by the decision of PETI to continue the case. “We respect the autonomy of Poland’s family law, but why do they impede gays and lesbians from enjoying the rights of other countries?”, she wondered.
The one Polish member of PETI from present, Lena Kolarska-Bobińska (PO – Civil Platform, center-right party, EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament) agreed that the practices of the Registry Offices should change.
KPH (Campaign Against Homophobia) has been monitoring this situation for years as it has received numerous complaints from Polish gays and lesbians who want to either enter a domestic partnership or get married in another EU country to a person of the same sex. To enter into such a union they are required to prove they are not married in Poland. The Registry Office refuses them this certificate when it becomes clear that they are lesbian or gay.
KPH had sent a petition to the PETI to take up this case and received the support of the international law firm Arnold & Porter LLP in the form of an amicus curiae who argued that this is a violation of the freedom of movement as well as the right to respect of privacy and family life.
On May 31, Krzysztof Smiszek, head of the KPH Legal Group, presented our petition to the PETI’s Members. The Committee voted unanimously in favor of further examination of the issue and will request a report on the matter from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament.
The representative of the European Commission (EC) present at the session claimed that the Commission is “sympathetic” to the fate of gays and lesbians, but does not see any competencies of the EC in this matter and mistook the petition as dealing with the recognition by Poland of same-sex unions.
PETI member Ermiona Mazzoni however stood by the decision of PETI to continue the case. “We respect the autonomy of Poland’s family law, but why do they impede gays and lesbians from enjoying the rights of other countries?”, she wondered.
The one Polish member of PETI from present, Lena Kolarska-Bobińska (PO – Civil Platform, center-right party, EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament) agreed that the practices of the Registry Offices should change.
