Polish President Nawrocki vetoes LGBTQI partnership law

The Polish president says "no" to securing informal life partnerships. Not only Prime Minister Donald Tusk is outraged.

Published: 19 July 2026, 15:49

Has vetoed the LGBTQI law: Poland's right-wing nationalist President Karol Nawrocki. Photo: Yves Herman / Reuters

From Warsaw — Gabriele Lesser

It was clear from the outset: Poland's right-wing nationalist President Karol Nawrocki would veto the LGBTQI law. And that is exactly what he has now done.

The aim of the law was to legally secure the situation of informal life partnerships. Under the proposed legislation, couples would have been able to sign a contract before a notary to enable marriage-like cohabitation. The European Union and the European Court of Human Rights have long demanded that Poland adapt its legislation to align with the legal framework common across the EU.

The Left party, which led the law from the center-left coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, had already made many concessions. The legislative proposal was extended to cover all life partnerships and was renamed the "Law on the Status of the Closest Person." A second accompanying law was intended to facilitate the implementation of legal changes in around 200 existing laws.

Currently, LGBTQI couples in Poland live without any legal protection. They cannot even obtain medical information if their partner is hospitalized.

"An expression of contempt for people"

"The president's veto is an expression of contempt for people and their right to happiness and a normal life," Prime Minister Donald Tusk fumed after learning of Nawrocki's blockade.

Poland's president had been regularly informed about the progress of the law project — through an intermediary from the ultra-conservative Peasant Party in the coalition. Allegedly, as he repeatedly let it be known, he was ready for a minimal consensus. He had promised during the election campaign to sign the law.

"I took a step back," justified Katarzyna Kotula from the Left party, "to enable everyone to sign this law — the government, the Sejm, and the Senate."

Not a president "of all Poles"

President Nawrocki, with his veto, turned his back on around two million Poles living in informal partnerships. With the veto, Nawrocki broke his election promise to be a president "of all Poles."

Poland's president did not mention the regular information and consultations with the government in his long video message. Instead, he claimed that as the guardian of the constitution, he could not allow the government to create an alternative institution to marriage. Article 18 of the constitution explicitly places marriage as a "union between a man and a woman" under the special protection of the state.

Constitutional lawyers like Ewa Letowska have repeatedly explained in recent months that Poland's constitution only enshrines special protection, but does not specify whether a marriage must necessarily consist of a man and a woman. A marriage between two men or two women is also conceivable, which could fall under the protection of the state without even touching the constitutionally defined "special protection" of a marriage between a man and a woman concluded before a registry office or church altar.

Supporter of particularly expensive divorce proceedings

Nawrocki goes even further in his justification of the veto. Allegedly, the government aims to "replace" the marriage between a man and a woman with a new institution, as enshrined in the constitution. Nawrocki is particularly outraged that a life partnership could be dissolved relatively easily with a signature before a notary.

Poland's president is a supporter of the most lengthy and expensive divorce proceedings possible. Allegedly, state-controlled procedures would contribute to saving many broken marriages. Just a few months ago, he vetoed a government law that would have allowed a consensual divorce without a trial.