T.H. v. Czech Republic, No. 33037/22, ECtHR (Fifth Section), 12 June 2025

The judgment in question declares a violation of Article 8 ECHR (right to respect for private life) by the Czech Republic, which made the legal recognition of a change of gender conditional upon undergoing gender reassignment surgery entailing (with a high probability) sterilization.

Art. 8 ECHR

1. Legal recognition of the gender identity of transgender persons cannot be made conditional upon completion of gender reassignment surgery that entails, or is highly likely to entail, sterilization of the person, insofar as that person does not wish to undergo such surgery. Such subordination violates the right to respect for private life guaranteed by Article 8 ECHR.
 

2. The condition imposed by Czech legislation, which tied the change of the personal numerical code, through which legal gender is identified, to completion of an invasive and irreversible surgical intervention entailing disability of reproductive function, constitutes a violation of the individual’s right to have their self-determined gender identity recognized, in the absence of a proportionate justification.