Legal Gender Recognition in Bulgaria: Supreme Court Aligns National Practice with the CJEU
28 July 2026Legal Gender Recognition in Bulgaria: A Significant Shift in Judicial Practice
Legal gender recognition in Bulgaria has entered a new phase following four landmark judgments delivered by the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) on 22 July 2026. For the first time since 2020, the Court has allowed the legal recognition of gender reassignment, effectively reversing several years of restrictive case law that followed decisions of both the Constitutional Court and the SCC’s General Assembly.
The judgments are a direct consequence of the Court of Justice of the European Union‘s (CJEU) ruling in Case C-43/24, delivered in March 2026. More importantly, they illustrate the practical operation of one of the fundamental principles of EU law-the primacy of EU law over conflicting national law and judicial interpretation.
Beyond their significance for transgender individuals, these decisions provide important guidance on the relationship between Bulgarian constitutional jurisprudence, European human rights standards and the binding effect of CJEU judgments on national courts.
Background: From Restrictive National Case Law to the CJEU
Until 2023, Bulgarian courts generally accepted applications for legal gender recognition where applicants established both a medically diagnosed condition of transsexuality and a genuine, settled intention to permanently live in accordance with their gender identity.
This changed following two landmark domestic decisions.
In 2021, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court held that the constitutional concept of ‘sex’ should be understood exclusively in its biological sense. Relying heavily on that interpretation, the General Assembly of the Civil Chamber of the SCC ruled in 2023 that Bulgarian law did not provide a legal basis for courts to order changes to an individual’s registered sex, names or personal identification number where the applicant claimed to be transgender. As a result, proceedings that had been pending since 2020 remained unresolved, while virtually all new applications were rejected.
The legal landscape changed after the SCC referred questions to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling. In Case C-43/24, the CJEU held that EU law precludes national legislation that prevents a Member State from recognising changes relating to an individual’s gender identity where that individual has exercised the right to free movement within the European Union. The Court further ruled that a national court cannot remain bound by an interpretation adopted by a constitutional court where that interpretation creates an obstacle to the effective application of EU law.
The Supreme Court’s New Approach
In a single day, on 22 July 2026, different panels of the SCC ruled on the first four cases following the CJEU’s judgment and consistently concluded that legal gender recognition must be granted where the relevant legal requirements are satisfied.
The leading judgment concerns the case that initiated the entire legal debate back in 2017.
The SCC expressly recognised that the right to respect for private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) includes the right of every individual to determine and express their gender identity. According to the Court, this protection extends to transgender persons irrespective of whether they have undergone medical or surgical treatment.
The Court also reaffirmed that human dignity constitutes the foundation of all fundamental rights. Refusing legal recognition solely because an individual’s gender identity differs from their biological sex amounts to unequal treatment and cannot be justified merely by the Constitutional Court’s interpretation or by the absence of detailed national legislation.
Primacy of EU Law Confirmed in Practice
Perhaps the most significant aspect of these judgments lies not in their outcome but in their constitutional and European law reasoning.
The SCC repeatedly emphasised that preliminary rulings delivered by the CJEU are binding on all Bulgarian courts and public authorities. Consequently, national courts are required to interpret Bulgarian legislation consistently with EU law and, where necessary, to disapply conflicting national judicial interpretations.
Several panels expressly rejected the argument that Bulgarian legislation prohibits legal gender recognition. According to the Court, no such prohibition exists in the applicable legislation and cannot be inferred from previous constitutional or interpretative case law.
The SCC further recognised that Bulgaria, as an EU Member State, has a positive obligation to ensure an effective legal procedure enabling transgender persons to obtain recognition of their gender identity, thereby safeguarding their rights under EU law, including the right to free movement.
These judgments therefore represent one of the clearest recent examples of the practical application of the principle of the primacy of EU law within the Bulgarian legal system.
Conditions for Legal Gender Recognition
Importantly, the SCC has not introduced a system of legal gender recognition based solely on self-identification. Instead, it has returned to the legal framework that existed before the 2023 interpretative decision.
Applicants must continue to satisfy two cumulative requirements:
- Medical criterion – the existence of a medically established condition of transsexuality, demonstrated through appropriate expert medical evidence.
- Legal criterion – a genuine, serious and settled intention to permanently live in accordance with the applicant’s gender identity.
Accordingly, legal gender recognition in Bulgaria remains an evidence-based judicial procedure rather than an automatic administrative process.
Why These Decisions Matter
The SCC’s new judgments provide important legal certainty after several years of conflicting domestic case law. Their practical significance extends beyond legal gender recognition itself.
The decisions:
- restore a predictable judicial approach following the 2023 interpretative decision;
- reaffirm the binding nature of preliminary rulings delivered by the CJEU;
- clarify that Bulgarian courts must interpret domestic legislation consistently with EU law;
- confirm that the absence of detailed national legislation cannot, in itself, justify refusing judicial protection where EU law requires otherwise; and
- demonstrate the continuing importance of the preliminary reference procedure under Article 267 TFEU as a mechanism for ensuring the uniform application of EU law across Member States.
For practitioners, the judgments provide welcome clarity regarding both the applicable legal test and the interaction between Bulgarian constitutional jurisprudence, the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court’s judgments of 22 July 2026 represent one of the most important developments in Bulgarian civil status law in recent years. They not only reopen the possibility of legal gender recognition in Bulgaria but also reaffirm the central role of EU law within the Bulgarian legal order.
Although Bulgaria still lacks dedicated legislation governing legal gender recognition, the SCC has now confirmed that this legislative gap cannot prevent national courts from providing effective judicial protection where required under EU law and the ECHR. The decisions are therefore likely to shape Bulgarian judicial practice for years to come and stand as a significant example of the constitutional dialogue between national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.