Landmark EU court ruling forces Member States to guarantee legal gender recognition for mobile citizens

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued a landmark ruling requiring all EU member states to provide legal gender recognition (LGR) procedures for citizens who have exercised their right to move and reside freely across the bloc. The judgment, delivered today in the case C‑43/24 Shipova, represents a significant advance for trans rights within the European Union and sets new legal obligations for states that currently block or hinder transitions in their civil status systems.

The case concerns a Bulgarian trans woman who has lived in Italy for nearly a decade. Despite her residence abroad, Bulgarian courts repeatedly refused to update her gender and name on official documents. This mismatch left her facing discrimination and administrative barriers in everyday life in Italy, including accessing healthcare, paying by card, securing employment and renting a home - situations where valid identification is essential.

In 2023, Bulgaria’s Supreme Court deepened the impasse by issuing an interpretative decision declaring that national law does not allow any change of sex, name or personal identification number for trans people, effectively imposing a blanket ban on LGR. With domestic proceedings stalled, the court referred the matter to the CJEU to determine whether such a ban could stand under EU law.

Today’s ruling carries implications far beyond the Shipova case. At present, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia have laws, court decisions or constitutional provisions that make LGR impossible. Without access to recognition, trans people in those countries face persistent barriers in every area of life requiring official identification. By unequivocally stating that access to LGR is necessary for the full enjoyment of EU citizenship, the Court has created a new legal obligation for member states to provide functioning systems for nationals who have moved abroad.

Advocates have welcomed the decision as a crucial step for trans equality. Adi Petrov of the Bilitis Resource Centre Foundation described it as “an important step toward restoring dignity and legal certainty,” adding that Bulgaria must now bring its laws into line with EU requirements. Lawyer Denitsa Lyubenova of LGBTI organisation Deystvie called for all suspended cases to be resumed immediately, although she warned that Bulgarian citizens who have not exercised free movement still have no viable path to document changes, highlighting an urgent need for national legislative reform.

Marie Ludwig, Senior Strategic Litigation Advisor at ILGA‑Europe, said the judgment marked “a huge step forward” and provides the European Commission with a strong basis for action against states that continue to deny LGR. Richard Köhler, Expert Advisor at TGEU, added that the ruling ensures member states cannot block their nationals living abroad from updating their identity documents, describing the decision as one that will allow “thousands of trans people in the EU” to breathe more freely.

Support for the applicant was provided by Bilitis, Deystvie, ILGA‑Europe and TGEU, with legal representation by Natasha Dobreva at the domestic level and Alexander Schuster and Denitsa Lyubenova at the EU level.

Human rights organisations are now urging all EU governments to reform their legal gender recognition systems to ensure they are fast, transparent and based on self‑determination rather than medical or psychiatric requirements. They are also calling on the European Commission to closely monitor compliance with today’s ruling, launch infringement procedures against Bulgaria if necessary and take immediate action against Hungary and Slovakia, both of which have enacted laws rendering LGR impossible.