EU countries have to adapt ID cards for trans people

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ECJ: EU countries must adapt ID cards for trans people

Whether traveling or picking up a package: showing your ID is part of everyday life. This can be uncomfortable for trans people. The highest European court is now strengthening their rights.

According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), transgender people in the EU have the right to identity documents that correspond to their gender identity. Member states must allow changes to gender entries in civil status registers, the judges in Luxembourg ruled. This is part of people’s right to move freely in the EU.

The court emphasized that issuing identification documents is a matter for the states. However, if gender data on the ID card differs from a person’s actual gender identity, this could cause “significant inconvenience” in many everyday situations, according to the notification of the judgment. During identity checks, border crossings or in a professional context, it could happen that people have to clarify doubts about their identity or the authenticity of their official documents.

The background is the case of a Bulgarian citizen who was registered as male at birth. She currently lives in Italy, where she started hormone therapy, and now appears as a woman. Her request to change the gender, name and personal identification number on her birth certificate was rejected by Bulgarian courts because, according to the courts, national law does not provide for such a change. Because Bulgaria’s Supreme Court of Cassation had doubts about whether this was compatible with EU law, it turned to the ECJ.

Trans people are people who do not feel like they belong to the gender they were assigned at birth. In Germany, people can have their first name and gender changed by submitting a declaration to the registry office.

According to the European umbrella organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex organizations Ilga, the ruling is likely to be particularly important for trans people from Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. Legal gender recognition is actually impossible there. The umbrella organization TGEU – Trans Europe and Central Asia welcomed the verdict. “Trans people need fast, transparent and accessible procedures for recognizing their gender identity,” commented Richard Köhler from TGEU.

The Bulgarian case now goes back to the national courts. You must observe the requirements of the ECJ when making your decision.