Polish president vetoes bill legalising same-sex unions

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed a legislative package designed to legalise same-sex civil partnerships, asserting that the proposed laws violate constitutional protections reserved exclusively for traditional marriage.

The decision was announced by the conservative president in a video address published on the official social media page of the Chancellery of the President on X, as per Caliber.Az.

During the broadcast, Nawrocki detailed his decision to block two interconnected bills aimed at establishing a legal framework for cohabiting couples, stating:

"I will now move on to the laws that did not receive my consent and for which I must resort to the presidential right of veto. There are two of them. The law on the status of the next of kin in a union and cohabitation agreement, as well as the law containing introductory provisions."

Jako strażnik Konstytucji nie mogę zaakceptować rozwiązania, które prowadziłoby do utraty szczególnego statusu małżeństwa, określonego w artykule 18. Konstytucji jako związek kobiety i mężczyzny znajdujący się pod ochroną i opieką Rzeczypospolitej - Prezydent RP Karol Nawrocki. pic.twitter.com/AH5F1F5q0w

— Kancelaria Prezydenta RP (@prezydentpl) July 17, 2026

The legislation, which sought to establish the legal "status of the next of kin," would have granted unmarried couples, including same-sex partners, broader rights concerning tax, inheritance, and medical decision-making.

However, Nawrocki argued that the proposed legal framework too closely mirrored the rights traditionally granted only to married couples, without imposing the same legal requirements.

"These bills create a new formalised institution in family law with a wide range of rights close to those of spouses. It opens a legal path to marriage under another name and without the full list of obligations that entering into a marriage entails."

The president further justified his veto by citing Poland's supreme law. Under Article 18 of the Polish Constitution, marriage is defined specifically as the union of a man and a woman, falling under the explicit protection of the state.

"As the guarantor of the constitution, I cannot approve decisions that would lead to the loss of the special status of marriage, described in Article 18 of the constitution as a union of a man and a woman and placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland," he noted.

By Tamilla Hasanova