European Union states must recognize gender changes obtained in other bloc countries, says top court
Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 October 2024.
M.-A.A. v Direcţia de Evidenţă a Persoanelor Cluj and Others.
Request for a preliminary ruling from the Judecătoria Sectorului 6 Bucureşti.
Reference for a preliminary ruling – Citizenship of the Union – Articles 20 and 21 TFEU – Articles 7 and 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States – Union citizen who has lawfully acquired, during the exercise of that right and his residence in another Member State, a change of his first name and gender identity – Obligation on the part of that Member State to recognise and enter in the birth certificate that change of first name and gender identity – National legislation which does not permit such recognition and entry, obliging the party concerned to bring new judicial proceedings for a change of gender identity in the Member State of origin – Effect of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union.
Case C-4/23.
Articles 20 and 21(1) TFEU, read in the light of Articles 7 and 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State that does not permit recognition and entry in the birth certificate of a national of that Member State of a change of first name and gender identity lawfully acquired in another Member State, when exercising the right to free movement and residence, with the consequence that that person is obliged to initiate, before a court, new proceedings for a change of gender identity in the first Member State, which disregard the change that was previously lawfully acquired in that other Member State.
See: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:62023CJ0004
International and Comparative SOGIESC Law - Professor Andreas R Ziegler 