In 2020 Ivan Novotný, 31, and Metod Špaček, 51, exchanged vows in Austria, a ceremony fully compliant with that country’s marriage law. Both men are lawyers and former diplomats, and they have lived in Bratislava ever since. Six years later, the Slovak interior ministry denied their request to register the union, invoking the constitutional definition of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman.
The refusal was formalised in a letter signed by Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok, who argued that Slovak law offers no legal basis for acknowledging a foreign same-sex marriage. While the ministry acknowledged the primacy of EU law it maintained that recognition for freedom-of-movement purposes does not automatically require a domestic marriage registration.
EU precedent and the 2025 Court of Justice ruling
Novotný and Špaček ground their claim on a November 2025 decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The case involved a Polish same-sex couple married in Berlin who were denied recognition in Poland. The ECJ ruled that any EU member state must recognise a same-sex marriage performed in another member state when the couple has exercised their right to move and reside in that country, and when the marriage has created or strengthened family life there. Importantly, the ruling does not compel states to allow same-sex marriages on their own soil, only to acknowledge those performed elsewhere.
Slovakia’s constitutional obstacle and political climate
Slovakia’s constitution, amended in 2014 and again last year, explicitly defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and limits adoption to married couples of opposite sex. Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government has repeatedly framed LGBTQ+ rights as a cultural threat, tightening adoption rules and declaring that “sex cannot be modified.” The administration also argues that national sovereignty on “cultural and ethical questions” should outweigh EU directives—a stance that prompted Brussels to launch legal action against Slovakia in November 2025.
Fico himself dismissed the possibility of registering any same-sex marriage, calling the idea “non-existent under Slovak law” and suggesting that acknowledging it would make the government look foolish. This rhetoric follows a 2022 shooting outside the Bratislava LGBTQ+ bar Tepláreň, which killed two patrons and intensified the hostile atmosphere for queer citizens.
Personal stories and parallel lawsuits
Beyond Novotný and Špaček, radio presenter Marian Žáry Kukelka, 44, has also filed a suit after marrying his partner Ondrej in Hainburg an der Donau, Austria, in 2023. Kukelka uses the combined surname on air, yet official documents still list him simply as Marian Kukelka. He describes his case as “a court case for love,” emphasizing the symbolic importance of being able to bear his partner’s name.
Both couples stress that they do not seek the introduction of same-sex marriage in Slovakia; they merely want the state to honour a marriage that was lawfully concluded within the EU. Novotný recounts a hospital visit during the COVID-19 pandemic when a doctor, out of kindness, listed him as “husband” on a medical report—an act he says could have been jeopardised if officials chose to penalise them.
The lawsuits arrive at a moment when public support for LGBTQ+ equality in Slovakia lingers around 35 percent, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, one of the lowest rates in the union. Advocacy groups warn that if the government secures a fifth term in the upcoming elections, legal discrimination could deepen, prompting more queer Slovaks to seek residence abroad.
