Greece - District Court of Mytilene 136/2018, 31 December 2018,
| Country of Decision: | Greece |
| Country of applicant: | Bangladesh |
| Court name: | District Court of Mytilene |
| Date of decision: | 31-12-2018 |
Keywords:
| Keywords |
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Refugee Status
Description
The recognition by a Member State of a third-country national or stateless person as a refugee. |
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Residence document
Description
“any authorisation issued by the authorities of a Member State authorising a third-country national to stay in its territory, including the documents substantiating the authorisation to remain in the territory under temporary protection arrangements or until the circumstances preventing a removal order from being carried out no longer apply, with the exception of visas and residence authorisations issued during the period required to determine the responsible Member State as established in this Regulation or during examination of an application for asylum or an application for a residence permit” |
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Vulnerable person
Description
Persons in a vulnerable position, such as"Minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents with minor children and persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence. Note: Directive 2011/36/EU defines a position of vulnerability as a situation in which the person concerned has no real or acceptable alternative but to submit to the abuse involved." |
Headnote:
The recognition of gender identity is a matter of respect towards the individual’s personality, protected under Greek and international law and applicable by analogy to refugees. Refugees must be able to request assistance from the authorities of the host-country, as refugeehood entails severed ties with the country of origin making it impossible for recognised refugees to request official actions from their governments.
Facts:
This case concerned a transgender Bangladeshi national, who had been recognised as a refugee. She filed an application with the District Court of Mytilene, Greece, requesting the correction of her personal data in the decision that recognised her refugee status, as well the residence permit and the travel document. The applicant asked for the change of her gender and the respective modification of both the first name and surname.
Decision & reasoning:
The Court held the application admissible recognising the applicant’s right to respect for her personality and gender identity. The Court noted that the requested amendment should normally be the responsibility of the authorities of the country of origin. However, the fact that the applicant is a refugee means that she has severed any ties with her country of origin. Consequently, according to Article 25(1) of the 1951 Refugee Convention the applicant must be able to request the assistance of the host country’s authorities in order to exercise her right.
Furthermore, the Court noted that the principle of equality, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the constitutional protection of human dignity must be interpreted as requiring that any special procedure on gender-based name change is applied to asylum applicants and refugees by analogy. The Court went on to explain that, under national law, in the event of difference between the registered gender & gender identity the individual is entitled to ask for the correction of the registered gender in accordance with their perception, as long as the legal age prescribed by the law has been attained or the rules governing exceptional circumstances are met.
Moreover, the Court considered the correction of the applicant’s identity data as absolutely necessary in order to ensure the promotion and protection of the applicant’s health as well as the quality of her social and personal life.
Outcome:
Application successful. The amendments requested by the applicant in regard to her name and gender were approved.
Observations/comments:
This summary was completed by Odyssefs Platonas, LLM student at Queen Mary University. Many thanks to Vassilis Kerasiotis, lawyer and Country Director for HIAS Greece, for providing us with the text of the decision.
Relevant International and European Legislation:
Cited National Legislation:
Other sources:
Domestic case law
Single Member First Instance Court of Athens ΜπρΑθ 6843/2007
Supreme Court of Greece ΑΠ 1321/1992
Administrative Court of Appeal of Athens EA 4971/1993
Single Member First Instance Court of Thessaloniki 20438/2010
District Court of Florina ΕιρΦλωρ 3/2018
Other sources
Vathrakokoilis Interpretative Jurisprudential Analysis no. 13 page 506 /Βαθρακοκοίλη Ερμηνευτική Νομολογιακή Ανάλυση κατ’ άρθρον αρ. 13 σελ. 506
Greece – Official Gazette issue A’51/13-10-2017
Foundedaki K. Draft by the Legislative Bill Drafting Committee of the Hellenic Ministry of Justice on the recognition of gender identity page 58/ Φουντεδάκη Κ. το Σχέδιο Νόμου της Νομοπαρασκευαστικής Επιτροπής του Υπουργείου Δικαιοσύνης για την αναγνώριση της ταυτότητας φύλου σελ. 58.