The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that member states must recognise legal documents from other countries that reflect a person’s changed name and gender identity, regardless of the member state’s own laws on changing one’s name and identity.
This decision comes in light of a Romanian trans man, Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi, who moved to the UK when it was still a member of the EU. Mirzarafie-Ahi, who had legally changed his gender identity and name while in the UK, had attempted to use his newly changed UK documents to receive an altered birth certificate from Romania. However, the country did not recognise his altered name and identity, leading him to sue Romania in the CJEU.
Romania argued that the name and gender change violated their laws, and that, since the UK was no longer a member of the EU, any changes within that country do not need to be recognised by Romania under its obligations to other EU member nations.
The court, however, argued that Romania’s reasoning would unlawfully restrict EU citizens’ freedom of movement and residence between different countries.
Additionally, the court argued that Romania’s policy would put an undue burden on individuals like Mirzarafie-Ahi, who would then have to be known as two different names and genders in different countries, creating legislative hurdles as they attempt to prove their identity. The court said such policies would restrict the “right to establish details of their identity as individual human beings, which includes the right of transsexual people to personal development and physical and moral integrity and to respect for and recognition of their sexual identity.”
Mirzarafie-Ahi’s legal counsel, human rights lawyer Iustina Ionescu, said in a statement: “This verdict has shown us that trans people are equal citizens of the EU. When you have rebuilt a life in another part of the European Union because you are not welcome in your own country, it is normal to ask to be treated with dignity when interacting with the authorities in your home country.”
