Romania infringed on transgender man’s rights, EU’s top court rules

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – The refusal of Romanian authorities to recognise the gender identity of a British-Romanian transgender man infringed on his rights and contravened European law, the European Union’s top court ruled on Friday.

The case, which raised questions about free movement and citizenship rights under EU law, was raised in a Romanian court in 2021 and referred to the European Union Court of Justice last year.

Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi moved to the UK in 2008 and obtained his British citizenship in 2016, which is also when he began his transition.

UK authorities gave him a gender recognition certificate while the country was still part of the European Union.

In 2021, Romanian authorities refused to acknowledge his name and gender change, demanding he follow the lengthy national procedure and arguing the UK was no longer a member of the EU.

In a preliminary ruling on Friday, the European court ruled authorities must recognise and update the national papers of people who have legally changed their gender identity in another EU member state, without additional proceedings.

“In that regard, it is irrelevant that the request for recognition and entry of the change of first name and gender identity was made … on a date on which the withdrawal from the European Union of the other Member State had already taken effect,” the court ruling said.

Romanian LGBTQ rights organisation ACCEPT, which has helped argue the case, said the ruling sets a precedent for transgender people whose gender recognition is not being acknowledged elsewhere in the EU, harming their ability to travel freely, reside, work, study or vote across the bloc.

Socially conservative Romania decriminalised homosexuality in 2001, decades later than other parts of the EU, but still bars marriage and civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

A blanket ban on gender identity studies was struck down by Romania’s Constitutional Court in 2020.