Bulgarian judges authorise trans people to legally change sex

Bulgaria's top court has ruled that trans people have a right to legally change their sex, judicial news reports said, in the first such judgement since 2020.

Judges ruled that authorities could not refuse to change a person's sex in civil records solely on biological, moral or religious grounds, or due to the absence of detailed legislation, as this would constitute unequal treatment.

That judgement was among three decisions on the issue issued in recent days by the Court of Cassation, according to legal news website Lex.bg.

In 2023, the court had ruled that Bulgarian law did not allow changes to a trans person's sex, name and personal identification number in the civil registry.

But on March 12 the European Union's Court of Justice ruled that European law precludes any legislation preventing such changes by a person who has exercised the right to move and reside in another EU country.