Poland - Supreme Administrative Court, case II OPS 1/19

Court name: Supreme Administrative Court
State: Poland
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), European Union law
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Birth registration, Childhood statelessness, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Discrimination, LGBTIQ families, Respect for private and family life

The judgment is an answer to a general legal question as to whether Polish law allows the incorporation of foreign birth certificates where parents are of the same sex. The question was prompted by the authorities' refusal to transcribe into Polish law the foreign birth certificate of a child born to two mothers, both of whom are Polish nationals. The applicant argued that since lack of a transcribed birth certificate inhibits her child's access to a Polish passport, it in practice leads to a situation that is identical to statelessness.