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The new judgment from the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-43/24 Shipova provides important clarification on the relationship between legal gender recognition and #EU freedom of movement law.
It also opens important avenues for future litigation, especially given that other EU Member States, Hungary and Slovakia, have made any access to LGR impossible through laws and constitutional amendments and Romania still does not have a LGR framework compliant with its human rights obligations.
The judgment highlights how strategic litigation before national courts and preliminary references to the CJEU can play a critical role in clarifying the scope of EU fundamental freedoms for trans people across the region.
The Court also reminded that national courts are not bound by supreme courts’ rulings where their interpretation of the law runs against EU law (which is the case of the 2023 Bulgarian Supreme Court interpretative decision banning LGR).
The judgment therefore reinforces that Member States must ensure that their practices concerning civil status records do not undermine the effectiveness of free movement rights.
In its ruling, the Court confirmed that such refusal may create serious obstacles to the exercise of EU citizenship rights, particularly the right to move and reside freely within the Union and breaches the fundamental right to private life.
The preliminary reference raised a key question for EU law:
Can a Member State refuse to grant legal gender recognition when this prevents its citizens from effectively exercising their right to free movement?
The case concerns a Bulgarian #trans woman who moved to Italy and has been denied legal gender recognition by Bulgarian authorities for nearly a decade.
The new judgment from the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-43/24 Shipova provides important clarification on the relationship between legal gender recognition and #EU freedom of movement law.
We welcome today’s judgement from the CJEU saying that all EU Member States must provide legal gender recognition procedures to their citizens who exercised their right to move and reside in another EU Member State.
Stay tuned for more information!
Good news: the criminal proceedings against #PécsPride organiser Géza Buzás-Hábel has been suspended! Now, the Constitutional Court has 90 days to rule whether the law banning LGBTI events was constitutional.
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On #InternationalWomensDay, we are amplifying the calls to action from the women’s rights movement across the world.
Combatting patriarchal systems of oppression and intersectional discrimination lies at the heart of our common fight.
Photo: Meltem Ulusoy / csgorselarsiv.org
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As highlighted in our Annual Review, the criminalisation of LGBTI organisations and activists is spreading across the region. These developments reflect a worrying pattern of increasing pressure on LGBTI organising and civil society.
ILGA-Europe stands in solidarity with Coming Out, the Russian LGBT Network, and all activists continuing to support LGBTI communities under increasingly dangerous conditions. International attention and support will be crucial to ensure that those defending LGBTI rights are not left isolated.
A parallel case against the Russian LGBT Network has been postponed to 14 April. We understand that more organisations may now be facing similar legal actions, raising serious concerns about a widening campaign against groups supporting LGBTI communities in Russia.
And the way these lawsuits are being handled effectively deprives LGBTI initiatives of the possibility to defend themselves, as Max notes.
Russian LGBTI rights lawyer Max Olenichev: “In 2023, the Russian Supreme Court declared a non-existent ‘International LGBT Movement’ extremist and banned its activities in Russia. Now, however, the Russian authorities are criminalising the activities of real, existing LGBTI initiatives”.
This is not a symbolic move. It is a direct criminalisation of an organisation supporting LGBTI communities, placing activists, staff, and anyone connected to them at serious risk of prosecution.
A Russian court declared Coming Out LGBT group an “extremist organisation.” This is the first time an actual LGBTI organisation in Russia has been labelled an extremist organisation.
Pride has become one of the clearest places to observe civic space across Europe.
Our Annual Review traces what these developments reveal about freedom of assembly & the resilience of communities who keep showing up.
Read more at ilga-europe.org/files/uploads/2026/02/Annual-Review-2026-Pride.pdf
Across Europe, people continue to organise, speak out and gather in defence of equality and freedom. Protecting the right to peaceful assembly is essential for a healthy #democracy.
We now hope the Constitutional Court will carefully examine the law in light of Hungary’s constitutional obligations, international human rights commitments and #EU law.
For nearly a year, Hungarian civil society organisations have been warning that the #Pride ban represents a direct attack on freedom of assembly and expression. These concerns have been raised repeatedly as the legislation moved forward.
The Constitutional Court now has 90 days to rule on the issue.
We welcome the news that the criminal case against the Mayor of #Budapest related to the Pride march has been suspended. The court asked the Constitutional Court to examine whether the legal provisions used in the case comply with constitutional principles & the European Convention on Human Rights.
ILGA-Europe launches a new call for proposals for LGBTI organisations in Ukraine, offering a structured partnership and funding for the next two years. Read more and apply by 12 April at ilga-europe.org/news/call-for-proposals-for-lgbti-organisations-in-ukraine/
