Transgender people and the Gender Recast Directive

The aim of these Guidelines is to provide an introduction to the content of the Gender Recast Directive and an overview of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, and their relevance for trans people living in the European Union.

These Guidelines are also designed to give guidance on how to improve the implementation of the Gender Recast Directive vis-a-vis gender identity, and to ensure equality for all trans people in the countries where the Directive is applicable.

See also

Press Release

The ILGA-Europe conference, the largest LGBTI conference in Europe and Central Asia, meets in Bucharest this weekend

The ILGA-Europe Annual Conference, the largest LGBTI conference of its kind in Europe, has brought over 400 LGBTI activists from across Europe and Central Asia […]
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News

Joint statement: EU Court of Justice strengthens trans rights by calling for the automatic recognition in birth certificates

ACCEPT, TGEU and ILGA-Europe welcome today’s decision of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU)   said that the refusal of an EU Member State […]
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News

Joint statement: EU Court of Justice Advocate General calls on Hungary to correct trans refugee’s gender marker in national registries

HĂ¡ttĂ©r Society, ILGA-Europe and TGEU welcome an opinion from the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union stating that Hungarian immigration […]
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News

Joint statement: Trans children and young people in schools deserve safety and understanding

This statement was drafted by IGLYO with input from UK inclusive education experts and Members, and was endorsed by ILGA-Europe and Transgender Europe (TGEU). Returning […]
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News

Joint statement on Italian Constitutional Court ruling on non-binary & trans persons’ rights

ILGA-Europe and TGEU welcome a judgement of the Italian Constitutional Court finding that non-binary peoples’ rights are protected under the Italian Constitution In a judgment […]
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News

Trans woman should have been allowed access to hormone therapy in prison, says European Court

The European Court of Human Rights has found that Poland violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, protecting the right to private […]
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Blog

What European countries might soon start recognising non-binary people?

Interested in the current state of non-binary rights in Europe? This concise guide covers the most important updates and developments you should be aware of […]
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News

Joint Statement welcoming European Court ruling that Russia’s trans parent’s foster-care termination violates family rights

In a judgement published yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights found that Russia violated the right to private and family life of a trans […]
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Blog

Remarkable and resilient Prides across Europe

Amid political turmoil, war, social issues and cultural changes, Pride celebrations in Europe continue to demonstrate the resilience and determination of LGBTI communities Today, on […]
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News

Joint Statement: Milestone for trans and intersex rights in Europe

ILGA-Europe, TGEU, OII Europe, IGLYO and EL*C jointly welcome the inclusion of SOGIGESC grounds in new EU Directive on minimum standards for equality bodies On […]
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News

European court hears landmark case on trans rights in Hungary

The Court of Justice of the European Union held a significant hearing today concerning legal gender recognition for trans people in Hungary Today, the Court […]
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News

Joint Statement on the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy 2024-2029

The Strategy includes a clearly intersectional approach that explicitly includes discriminations based on sex and gender and SOGIESC grounds, especially LBTI women. It also contains […]
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News

EU Court of Justice Advocate General calls for automatic recognition of legal gender recognition in birth certificates

In a significant development regarding the rights of trans people in the European Union, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European […]
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News

European court to hear landmark case regarding discrimination against non-binary people

The Court of Justice of the European Union is to decide on lawsuit over the lack of provision of an option for non-binary persons, which […]
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Report

Inventory of relevant SOGIESC case law and pending cases before the ECtHR and CJEU

In order to focus our strategic litigation efforts across Europe to fully protect and advance LGBTI rights, with this inventory ILGA-Europe wants to support members […]
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Blog

A new roadmap for advancing the human rights of trans and non-binary people

A brand new Issue Paper from the Council of Europe on Human Rights and Gender Identity and Expression not only sheds light on the challenges […]
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News

New draft law in Hungary seeks to exculde trans women from pension benefits

Dear President of the European Commission, We are writing concerning the recent introduction of a new bill in the Hungarian Parliament to further curtail the […]
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Report

Intersections: The LGBTI II Survey – Trans and Non-binary Analysis

Disaggregated data, which can look deeply into the lived experiences of marginalised people, is a key demand of LGBTI and other human rights groups. With […]
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News

Statement on today’s vote to ban legal gender recognition in Russia

ILGA-Europe issue this public statement to express our support to and solidarity with trans and gender diverse people in Russia in the light of the […]
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Podcast

The Frontline: Trans Inclusion in the Women’s Movement

In this episode of The Frontline, specially released on Trans Day of Visibility, we’re looking at trans inclusion in the women’s movement. All too often […]
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Blog

The infringement against Hungary: Behind the scenes

As the deadline for member states to decide whether they will join the European Commission’s lawsuit against Hungary for its introduction of anti-LGBTI legislation fast approaches, we look at the vital work ILGA-Europe has been doing behind the scenes to bring this case before the EU Court of Justice and to bring countries on board.
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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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Blog

#TDoR2022: Two more European countries added to annual report on trans murders

This year, for the first time, Estonia and Switzerland reported the murders of trans people. In total, 2022 saw 327 reported murders of trans and gender-diverse people in the world as a result of anti-trans violence, according to TGEU’s Trans Murder Monitoring. Although TGEU has been collecting information since 2008, most trans murders still go under-reported.
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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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Blog

Update: The Rights of Rainbow Families in the EU

The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled in two occasions over recent months that EU countries must protect the freedom of movement of rainbow families. This is a right all EU citizens should enjoy, LGBTI people too. In today’s blog, we bring you the state of LGBTI people’s family rights in different EU countries.
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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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News

Hungary to be Brought Before Top EU Court For its Ban on LGBTI Content

The European Commission has referred Hungary to the CJEU over discriminatory amendments adopted in June 2021, which ban the “portrayal and the promotion of gender […]
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Report

Briefing Document: Ukraine war – Medications needed by trans and intersex people

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has resulted in need for immediate action to address the needs both of a significant population of Ukrainians fleeing the […]
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Blog

Trans Day of Visibility 2022: Here’s what you absolutely should know about trans communities from Ukraine

It’s March 31, Trans Day of Visibility. To mark this day, at ILGA-Europe we want to commend the amazing work trans-led organisations are doing as the war in Ukraine continues, and tell you about the current needs of trans communities staying or leaving the country.
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Blog

A Marathon, not a sprint: how we’re responding to the invasion of Ukraine

In the past week, since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the global response has been massive, alongside a great number of organisations working with […]
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