The case concerned a transgender man from Iran who had obtained asylum in Hungary but could not
legally change his gender and name in that country.
The Court noted that the domestic system for gender recognition had excluded the applicant simply
because he did not have a birth certificate from Hungary, a change in the birth register being the
way name and gender changes were legally recognised.
The Court concluded that a fair balance had not been struck between the public interest and the
applicant’s right to respect for his private life owing to the refusal to give him access to the legal
gender recognition procedure.
On appeal from the England and Wales Court of Appeal: [2009] EWCA Civ 172.
The case summary in English has been prepared in the framework of the Knowledge-Based Harmonisation of European Asylum Practices Project (2010-2012), co-financed by the European Refugee Fund.