The European Court of Human Rights has rejected complaints by a trans woman and a trans man about entries in the birth register. In the judgments published on Tuesday in Strasbourg, the court pointed to state discretion.

In one of the two cases, a trans woman, citing the right to respect for private life, had demanded to be officially registered as the mother of the child conceived with her semen. A Berlin registry office had decided in 2015 not to enter the plaintiff, who was born as a man, as a mother in the birth register.

The reason: The trans woman did not give birth to the child. Mother is only the woman who actually gave birth to the child. The Federal Court of Justice, in turn, ruled in 2017 that the plaintiff trans woman had to be registered as the father.

Bundesverband Trans disappointed

The European Court of Human Rights has now ruled in favour of the Federal Court of Justice. In its judgment, it also confirmed that, under German law, the former first name of a transsexual parent must also be indicated if, as in this case, the child was conceived or born after gender reassignment. The Court also held that the German authorities had struck a fair balance between the applicant's rights, the interests of the child and the public interest.

The second case concerned the complaint of a trans man who wanted to be entered on the birth certificate as the father of his child. The plaintiff had been born a woman and had given birth to the child after his identity as a man had already been recognized. A Berlin district court decided against his will that he should be registered as the mother of the child with his female name, which had already been discarded at that time.

An appeal to the Federal Court of Justice was rejected because the mother of a child was the person who had given birth to the child. A change in the sex of a person therefore has no influence on the legal relationship between that person and his children, according to the reasoning.

The European Court of Human Rights now saw no wrongdoing by the German authorities and courts. There is no serious discrimination. The Federal Association Trans spoke of an "antiquated family image".