Latvia’s Supreme Court is waiting on the Court of Justice of the European Union to say whether Latvia has to record a same-sex marriage that two of its citizens concluded in Sweden.
“This case concerns the State’s duty to respect families whose marriages are lawfully recognised within the EU,” said Gabriela Šantare, a senior associate at COBALT, the law firm representing the couple.
The Senate’s Department of Administrative Cases put their appeal on hold and sent the question to Luxembourg, the Supreme Court announced on March 25. LSM covered it that day. As of Oct. 29, no ruling had been reported.
Neither spouse has been named. One is a Latvian citizen, and the other holds Latvian and Swedish citizenship. They live in Latvia. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs wouldn’t enter their marriage in the Register of Natural Persons, because Latvian law only recognizes a man and a woman. They lost in two lower administrative courts, Jurista Vārds reported.
“We will continue to pursue these proceedings actively and purposefully in order to secure a decision favourable to the family,” Šantare said in COBALT’s announcement.
How the Polish Cupriak-Trojan Ruling Shapes Latvia’s Case
The couple’s lawyers are leaning on a case from Poland. Jakub Cupriak-Trojan and Mateusz Trojan married in Berlin in 2018, and Polish officials refused to record it. On Nov. 25, 2025, in case C-713/23, the EU court ruled against Poland.
“It infringes not only the freedom to move and reside, but also the fundamental right to respect for private and family life,” the court said of the refusal, Reuters reported.
EU citizens who build a family life in another member state, “in particular by virtue of marriage,” must “have the certainty to be able to pursue that family life upon returning to their member state of origin,” the court said.
“This ruling is historic,” Paweł Knut, the Polish couple’s lawyer, said that day. “It marks a new beginning in the fight for equality and equal treatment for same-sex couples.”
The ruling didn’t order any country to legalize same-sex marriage at home.
“The CJEU has already ruled in a similar case, which provides a strong basis for expecting a clear and consistent approach here as well,” Šantare said.
Latvia’s Senate wasn’t sure the Polish case covered this one. It said the EU court hadn’t ruled on facts like these, LSM reported. The Polish men married in Berlin and later planned to move back to Poland, according to LETA. The Latvian couple traveled to Sweden for the wedding, and one of them has close ties there, according to COBALT.
Latvia’s Partnership Law and the Dzīvesbiedri Movement
Latvia’s Saeima passed a partnership law in November 2023, and it took effect July 1, 2024. Maksims Ringo and Janis Locs registered first, just after midnight, Euronews reported. “I think this is the moment we can celebrate,” said Kaspars Zālītis, who leads the Dzīvesbiedri (Life Partners) movement. Justice Minister Inese Lībiņa-Egnere said “the road was not smooth.”
The Senate noted that the Swedish marriage wouldn’t stop the couple from registering a partnership in Latvia.
When the Polish ruling landed, Zālītis told LSM Latvia would have to act. “For the state, this will be an obligation, and I expect it will have to be implemented fairly quickly,” he said. Latvia’s Justice Ministry said it would study the full judgment before saying what comes next.
Dzīvesbiedri wrote on Facebook that “no one should have to choose between being able to return to their homeland or living with their spouse in another country,” Apollo.lv and LETA reported. COBALT has done pro bono work for the group since 2018.
A gay couple in Slovakia is suing because officials there won’t register their Austrian marriage. They cite the Polish ruling as well.
Latvia First’s ‘Two Sexes’ Amendment Goes to Saeima Committees
On Sept. 24, nine days before the Oct. 3 parliamentary election, 42 lawmakers voted to send a constitutional amendment from the opposition party Latvia First to committees, LETA reported. It would declare that only two sexes exist.
The Saeima rejected a similar Latvia First proposal 43 to 37 in January 2025, LSM reported.
