ENG:  https://cairo52.com/2026/03/23/historic-legal-victory-in-cairo-52-lawsuit-first-ruling-to-vindicate-transgender-individuals-regarding-the-right-to-health-and-compel-the-sex-reassignment-committee-to-complete-procedures/



Cairo 52 Legal research institute March 23, 2026

Press Release
In a historic judicial victory and an unprecedented step toward securing the right to health and medical care, the Administrative Judiciary Court issued a ruling in favor of the Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute’s client. This ruling is the first of its kind to vindicate transgender individuals in Egypt regarding their fundamental right to health. It annuls the negative decision and the failure of the “Sex Reassignment Committee” at the Egyptian Medical Syndicate to complete the medical procedures for one of the Institute’s transgender clients, legally compelling the committee to complete the process.

Case Background, the Client’s Suffering, and Systematic Obstruction

The details of the case date back to when the plaintiff submitted an official request to the “Sex Reassignment Committee,” the legal body tasked with reviewing gender transition requests in Egypt, headquartered at the Medical Syndicate. The request was supported by precise medical reports and examinations confirming the client’s prolonged psychological and hormonal therapy, and the inevitability of surgical intervention as a necessary treatment to save their life and enable them to live normally. This was especially urgent given the stark contradiction between their physical appearance and the identity recorded in official documents, which had completely paralyzed their life.

Despite fulfilling all medical requirements and the unanimous consensus of the treating physicians on the necessity of surgical intervention, the request remained locked in government drawers for years without justification. This procrastination occurred alongside the Sex Reassignment Committee’s general suspension of receiving and reviewing requests from this community, which constitutes numerous grave constitutional violations, undermining the right to health, the right to equality, and the principle of non-discrimination. This intentional delay and freezing prompted the Institute to resort to the Administrative Judiciary Court to stop this blatant violation and demand the realization of the client’s constitutional right to health.

Legal Defenses Presented by the Cairo 52 Legal Team

During the litigation process, the Cairo 52 Legal Team submitted legal memoranda based on a set of fundamental defenses, most notably:

State of Medical Necessity and the Right to Health: The legal team emphasized that the client’s condition is a real, medically recognized organic and psychological condition requiring treatment. Surgical intervention in this context constitutes a “state of medical necessity that permits prohibitions” to save the patient, grounded in the Constitution’s guarantee of healthcare as a fundamental pillar of life.
Plea of Unconstitutionality Due to Suspected Discrimination and Deprivation of Transgender Individuals from Treatment: The team argued that denying or obstructing treatment specifically for transgender individuals constitutes clear discrimination and a violation of the principle of equality guaranteed by the Constitution. Depriving this group of their medical rights is an explicit violation of the constitutional right to health, which the state must guarantee to all citizens without discrimination.
The Negative Administrative Decision: The team stressed that the refusal of the concerned authorities to complete the examinations and issue the necessary permits constitutes an unlawful negative administrative decision, stripping the client of their right to life and rendering them “morally, socially, and legally dead.”
Plea of Unconstitutionality Regarding the Committee’s Composition (Flaw in Technical Competence): The legal team argued the invalidity of the “Sex Reassignment Committee’s” composition for violating the Constitution by including a religious member (a representative of Al-Azhar) in what is supposed to be a purely medical and technical committee. The defense asserted that religious jurisprudence is not a reference for evaluating a health condition, and that evaluation must be exclusively limited to scientific experts.
Reasoning and Verdict of the Court In its reasoning, the court did not uphold the defense’s plea regarding the unconstitutionality of the committee’s composition and the exclusion of the religious member. However, it vindicated the client in the substantive part of the lawsuit regarding the administration’s failure, concluding the following:

Condemning the Medical Syndicate’s Inaction: The court confirmed that the Egyptian Medical Syndicate failed to provide evidence of sending the client’s medical reports to Al-Azhar. The court considered this conduct an unjustified refusal to complete the prescribed procedures for examining the client’s case.
Clearing Al-Azhar of Responsibility: The court established that the Islamic Research Academy did not fail in its role; rather, it requested the completion of medical reports for several cases, including the client’s, but the Medical Syndicate failed to send them, thereby obstructing Al-Azhar’s role in providing a religious opinion.
The Verdict: Consequently, the court ruled to accept the lawsuit in form, and in substance, to “annul the contested negative decision” (which is the Medical Syndicate’s refusal to complete the procedures), with all its ensuing legal consequences. This legally compels the Sex Reassignment Committee to complete the examinations and present its medical opinion to Al-Azhar to seek a religious opinion as a procedural condition before issuing the final approval.
The Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute affirms that this ruling—despite our continuous reservations regarding the involvement of non-medical entities in health self-determination and the deprivation of individuals’ medical decision-making autonomy—represents a significant legal victory and an effective tool to advance the files of transgender individuals currently stuck in the drawers of government committees. The Institute calls on the Ministry of Health and the Medical Syndicate to promptly execute the ruling and to respect the constitutional right to health and bodily integrity without delay.

To know more about the situation of accessing healthcare for trans people in Egypt, read our study: Understanding the Needs and Challenges of Transgender People Accessing Gender-Affirming Healthcare in Egypt: A Mixed Methods Study.