Guide: COVID-19 Pro bono legal resources and support

As a result of COVID 19 many organisations face unexpected and complex legal questions around employment and restructuring, contractual rights and force majeure, and implications on human rights in general.

As part of our ‘Protect, Adapt and Rally’ package, please find below an overview of leading pro bono service providers and clearing houses that are offering their services to LGBTI organisations in finding solutions to the consequences of COVID 19 at the organisational level and other areas of LGBTI rights affected by the pandemic. Please consult the list below on Pro bono legal resources for guidance and support with changed organisational matters and associated impact of COVID 19 to find best catering for your needs.

See also

News

Significant European Court judgments in two cases concerning violence against LGBTI people involving state agents

Two successful European Court cases brought against Russia underline state obligations to protect LGBTI community from violent counter demonstrators and general hate motivated violence.
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News

Romania failed to protect same-sex couples, European court rules

European court has found that Romania breached the right to respect for the family life of 21 same-sex Romanian couples by failing to recognise their relationships.
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Press Release

Romanian transgender man’s landmark case requesting that Romania acknowledges his UK gender recognition referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union

Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi, a transgender man with Romanian and British citizenship, has filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in Romania against Romanian authorities over their refusal to recognize […]
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News

After Polish Case, CJEU Rules to Protect Self-employed Workers based on Sexual Orientation

In December 2017, a self-employed worker and his partner published a music video on YouTube aimed at promoting tolerance towards same-sex couples. Shortly after the […]
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Press Release

LGBTI organisations welcome EU parental recognition proposal with the best interests of the child at its core

EU-wide parenthood recognition is key in ensuring equal protection for all children in the Union, say ILGA-Europe and NELFA.
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News

Sexual orientation is not a reason to terminate a contract with a self-employed worker, says Advocate General of the CJEU

Today, the Advocate General of the CJEU has issued an opinion in the case of J.K. vs the Polish public broadcaster company TP, stating that discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment is not acceptable under EU law.
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News

Rainbow families have the right to move and reside freely, EU court reiterates

The Court of Justice of the EU has stated that birth certificates issued in an EU country must be recognised across the EU, and that EU countries should protect the freedom of movement of rainbow families.
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Case Law

A.B. and K.V. v Romania

Recognition of same-sex marriages in the context of freedom of movement in the EU through the prism of implementation of CJEU’s Coman judgment Submitted jointly […]
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Blog

The 5 trending attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people in the EU in 2021

Right now, as the war on Ukraine escalates, democracy, human rights and equality matter more than ever in Europe. In our submission to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law report, we’ve identified key trends in the systematic attacks on the rights of LGBTI people across EU member states.
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Blog

How Baby Sara and her mums have pushed forward the rights of all rainbow families across the EU

When an EU country recognises a child and its same-sex parents as a family, all EU countries should recognise them as such, so to guarantee their freedom of movement. This is what the EU’s top court ruled in December. But how this case has advanced LGBTI rights in the European Union and what comes next for rainbow families?
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Case Law

Macaté v. Lithuania

Freedom of expression, warning labels restricting artistic expression.
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Press Release

Rising challenges for LGBTI organisations in Europe and Central Asia, new report finds

A survey of LGBTI organisations across Europe and Central Asia finds they face significant challenges in the face of growing anti-LGBTI forces, and the ongoing […]
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Blog

What has 2021 meant to the LGBTI movement in Europe? Listen to our latest podcast episode to find out this year’s highlights

As 2021 comes to an end, we have collected some of the moments, events and trends that have marked the year in the latest episode of The Frontline, ILGA-Europe’s podcast about LGBTI activism and lives in Europe and Central Asia. Read here some of the episode’s highlights and find out reasons to stay hopeful in 2022.
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Press Release

Top EU Court Recognises Relationship of Same-sex Parents and their Children Under EU Law

In a landmark judgement, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a child and its same-sex parents must be recognised as […]
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Case Law

Coman and Others v Romania

Recognition of same-sex marriages in the context of freedom of movement in the EU through the prism of implementation of CJEU’s Coman judgment.
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Blog

How trans parents are better protected after European Court ruling

Recently, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of a trans woman in Russia who was denied access to her children because of her gender identity and transition. Read on to find out how this may benefit all trans and LGBTI parents in Europe.
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News

European Court rules in favour of the best interest of the child in same-sex custody case

The European Court of Human rights has ruled that the refusing a mother custody of her youngest child on the grounds of her sexual orientation to be discriminatory and a violation of her right to private and family life.
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Blog

What Pride Reminds: How anti-gender forces and blocks to progress on HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia are intertwined

In moments like these, where even our former allies are using us to advance their own political goals, pride and its value become ever clearer.
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Blog

The shocking truth about LGBTI asylum seekers living through COVID-19 in Europe

The COVID-19 pandemic and the political responses to it have hit already beleaguered LGBTI asylum seekers in Europe particularly hard. We report on the alarming impact.
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Blog

#SexWork in Europe: “We are still asking for the basic things: housing, work, and respect for our identities”

To mark #InternationalSexWorkersDay on June 2, we talked to Sabrina Sánchez, trans migrant sex worker based in Spain, on her journey, the pandemic and why sex workers rights are central to the LGBTI movement.
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News

We welcome today’s judgment from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Association ACCEPT and Others v. Romania

We welcome today’s judgment from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Association ACCEPT and Others v. Romania.  The Court found a […]
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Blog

How to build a fairer, healthier world during a global pandemic

On 7 April, in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, we celebrated World Health Day with the motto: “Building a fairer, healthier world”. But […]
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Podcast

The Frontline: LGBTI communities in Europe: Pushed to the brink

Reporting from country after country provides a glaring clarification that progress which has been taken for granted is not only increasingly fragile, but particularly vulnerable […]
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Case Law

V.D. v Russia

Asylum. Submitted jointly by ILGA-Europe, AIRE Centre, ICJ and UKLGIG.
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Case Law

A.H. and Others v Germany

Recognition of trans parenthood.
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Case Law

Buhuceanu and Ciobotaru v. Romania

Recognition of same-sex unions. Submitted jointly by ILGA-Europe, FIDH, NELFA and ECSOL. 
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Blog

No One Left Behind: A Fund to tackle LGBTI socioeconomic inequalities

Early in June, ILGA-Europe launched the ‘No One Left Behind’ fund, an initiative to tackle persisting socioeconomic inequalities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Read on to find out what it is, why we launched it and how we went about awarding 25 grants.
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Report

COVID-19 in marginalised groups: challenges, actions and voices

Marginalised groups such as people experiencing homelessness, undocumented migrants, sex workers, people who use drugs, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and prisoners […]
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Case Law

Y. v France

Recognition of non-binary identities. Submitted jointly by ILGA-Europe, OII Europe, and C.I.A. (Collectif intersexes et allié-e-s).
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Blog

The seven ways COVID-19 has hugely impacted LGBTI people

“While the Coronavirus does not discriminate, it has hit vulnerable communities disproportionately harder.” This is the conclusion of ILGA-Europe’s rapid assessment report on the impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTI people, organisations, and communities in Europe and Central Asia. In this blog, ILGA-Europe’s policy team share the seven main areas of life in which COVID-19 has specifically impacted LGBTI people.
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