THE REFUSAL OF A MEMBER STATE TO RECOGNISE A CHANGE OF FIRST NAME AND SURNAME THAT HAS OCCURRED LEGALLY IN ANOTHER MEMBER STATE IS CONTRARY TO THE RIGHTS OF UNION CITIZENS

#135The refusal of a Member State to recognise a change of first name and surname that has occurred legally in another Member State is contrary to the rights of Union citizens

The Court of Justice ruled in its judgment in case C-4/23 of 4th October 2024 that the refusal of a Member State to recognise a change of first name and surname that occurred legally in another Member State is contrary to the rights of Union citizens.

The Romanian citizen was registered as female at birth in Romania. After moving to the United Kingdom, he also acquired British citizenship, while retaining Romanian citizenship. In 2017, he applied in the United Kingdom to change his first name and change his gender identity from female to male, which was legally recognised in 2020. Subsequently, in 2021, on the basis of documents issued by the United Kingdom confirming these changes, he requested the Romanian authorities to record these changes (first name, gender and personal identification number) on his birth certificate. At the same time, he also requested the Romanian authorities to issue a new birth certificate.

The Romanian authorities rejected the request on the grounds that the citizen concerned should initiate new proceedings for the change of gender identity before the Romanian courts. The citizen concerned therefore applied to the Bucharest court and requested that the data contained in his birth certificate be reconciled with those contained in the documents issued by the United Kingdom confirming the change of his first name and his change of gender identity.

In this context, the Romanian court therefore asked the Court of Justice whether the national legislation is compatible with EU law and whether Brexit also has an impact on the dispute in question.

In its ruling, the Court of Justice states that it is contrary to EU law for the legislation of a Member State not to allow the recognition and recording on the birth certificate of a national of that Member State of a change of forenames and gender identity which has been legally effected in another Member State. The Court further states that this applies even if the application for recognition of that change was made after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union.

According to the Court, if a Member State refuses to recognise a change of gender identity that was legally acquired in another Member State, it thereby impedes the exercise of the right of free movement and residence of a citizen within the European Union. Initiating new proceedings for a change of gender identity in the Member State of origin poses a risk for the person concerned that the new proceedings will lead to a different outcome than that adopted by the authorities of the Member State that legally authorised the change.

The Court further recalled that, according to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, Member States are required to establish a clear and foreseeable procedure for the legal recognition of gender identity, which allows for a change of gender.