Inventory of relevant SOGIESC case law and pending cases before the ECtHR and CJEU 2025/2026 Update

ILGA-Europe has been publishing an inventory of relevant SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics) case law and pending cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) annually since 2010 as a tool to support its strategic litigation efforts at the European court to advance the rights of LGBTI people.

This year’s inventory covers new cases filed and judgments rendered by both European courts during the period January 2025-May 2026.

The Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU) have set important European human rights standards as well as legal protection of the rights of LGBTI people at the European level. Judgments of the ECtHR and judgments rendered both in preliminary rulings and infringement procedures by the CJEU are part of this standard-setting, ensuring CoE and EU Member States respect their commitments to end discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics. They are also important instruments to ensure implementation and full application of existing standards by CoE and EU Member States.

These ECtHR judgments and CJEU rulings set human rights standards which apply to governments across the CoE and the EU respectively. Considering the widespread nature of discrimination against LGBTI people, increased attacks on LGBTI people in a number of countries, still existing legislative gaps in ensuring equality, as well as the fact that some governments have started to actively take back or limit established rights, strategic litigation plays an ever more important role in protecting and advancing equal rights for LGBTI persons across Europe.

Key figures

• New cases

Between January 2025 and May 2026, 35 new SOGIESC cases were communicated, 31 by the ECtHR and 4 by the CJEU.

Those cases concern 15 different countries. Countries with more than one new case are Bulgaria (6 cases), Russia (4 cases), Hungary (3 cases), the Czech Republic (3 cases), Türkiye (3 cases), Sweden (2 cases), Serbia (2 cases) and Lithuania (2 cases).

Of these cases, 10 concern SOGIESC issues generally, 15 concern sexual orientation, 6 concern gender identity and expression and 1 concerns sex characteristics.

A majority of those cases (12) concern legal recognition and protection of same-sex couples (including cross-border recognition of relationships and recognition of rainbow families). 10 cases concern hate crime, hate speech and freedom of expression or assembly. 6 cases concern risks of persecution in the context of asylum. 6 cases concern legal gender recognition. One case concerns discrimination in employment.

• New judgments

Between January 2025 and May 2026, 45 new judgments were rendered, 39 by the ECtHR and 6 by the CJEU.

Those judgments concern 16 different countries. Countries with more than one judgment are Russia (15 cases), Poland (9 cases), Greece (3 cases), Moldova (3 cases), the Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Ukraine (2 cases each).  

Of these judgments, 13 concern SOGIESC issues generally, 24 concern sexual orientation, 7 concern gender identity and expression and 1 concerns sex characteristics.

A vast majority of those judgments (26) concern hate crime, hate speech and freedom of expression or assembly. 9 judgments concern legal recognition and protection of same-sex couples (including cross-border recognition of relationships and recognition of rainbow families). 5 judgments concern legal gender recognition. 4 judgments concern asylum procedures. 3 judgments concern the protection of personal data. One case concerned the participation of intersex athletes in sports.

Main findings

The increase in both new applications and judgments concerning SOGIESC matters reflects broader developments documented by ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review and Rainbow Map. European courts are increasingly being asked to respond not only to individual instances of discrimination but also to systemic measures restricting the rights and visibility of LGBTI persons.

In particular, the constant increase in judgments and pending cases concerning hate crime, hate speech, attacks on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, targeting LGBTI rights activists, LGBTI organisations and events such as Pride, aligns with systemic attacks on LGBTI communities identified in ILGA-Europe Annual Review for 2026 and the past years.

Litigation concerning trans persons’ rights is also becoming more diverse. While legal gender recognition remains an important issue (with new cases communicated on complete bans on legal gender recognition), new cases are communicated concerning issues that have yet to be addressed by the ECtHR, notably transphobic hate speech and hate crime or transphobic domestic violence, which aligns with ILGA-Europe Annual Review’s findings concerning the specific attacks of trans people across the region. As mentioned further below, the CJEU is a particularly important avenue in this respect.

Cases concerning the legal recognition of same-sex couples and rainbow families likewise continue to represent a substantial proportion of the courts’ dockets, which is consistent with ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map’s findings that 18 countries in the region still do not have any legal protection of same-sex couples.  

At the same time, important gaps remain. Socio-economic rights, including access to healthcare, housing, education and social protection, remain comparatively underdeveloped in European SOGIESC case law. Litigation concerning the rights of intersex persons, trans parenthood, and recognition of non-binary gender markers also remains limited, indicating areas where further strategic litigation may be required.

The growing importance of CJEU case law in advancing the fundamental rights of LGBTI people in the region is particularly flagrant this year as six landmark judgments were rendered during the period covered by this Inventory and four new cases were communicated. Trans persons’ fundamental rights were the central element in three of these cases, signalling important progress: Mousse and Deldits, based on GDPR and Shipova based on EU free movement law and the right to private life guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights (the “Charter”).

The Cupriak-Trojan case, also based on EU free movement law and the right to private and family life as well as the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation guaranteed by the Charter, was in turn a landmark judgment for the recognition of same-sex marriages across the region.

Finally, the CJEU’s judgment in the infringement procedure Commission v Hungary, ruling that Hungary’s anti-LGBTI law violates not only EU treaties, multiple directives and provisions of the Charter, but also constitutes a standalone violation of TEU Article 2 containing EU values as it introduced a coordinated series of discriminatory measures, systematically stigmatising and marginalising the LGBTI minority. It thus represents one of the most constitutionally significant rulings in the Court’s history, confirming that the Union’s foundational values are judicially enforceable obligations and not merely political aspirations. This judgment strengthens the legal tools available to challenge legislation that systematically targets LGBTI communities

Those CJEU judgments also show the judicial dialogue between both courts, as the CJEU relied heavily on ECtHR case law in all those judgments, strengthening coherence between both systems and showing the importance of pursuing strategic litigation on SOGIESC matters before both courts.

Finally, monitoring the implementation of both ECtHR and CJEU judgments is crucial in identifying the progress in tackling gaps.

39 leading ECtHR judgments on SOGIESC matters have not been implemented by Member States and remain under the supervision of the CoE Committee of Ministers, with the oldest judgment still under implementation in the L. v. Lithuania case dating back to 2007 and concerning the absence of a legal gender recognition legal framework.

At the EU level, several key judgments rendered by the CJEU on fundamental family rights issues (notably the judgments rendered respectively in 2018, 2021 and 2022 in the Coman, Pancharevo and Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich cases) have still not been implemented by Romania, Bulgaria and Poland respectively to date, leading to the filing of complaints to the European Commission, which should push for their implementation by the relevant Member States, including by starting infringement procedures. This year, Romania and Poland have shown some progress in this respect by implementing the Mirin and Cupriak-Trojan judgments, respectively.

Our strategic litigation work

ILGA-Europe supports strategic litigation at the European courts to advance the rights of LGBTI people and closing the gap areas discussed below.  We also work towards achieving legal change for LGBTI people at the European and national level by enhancing the knowledge and capacity of LGBTI activists and organisations to engage in litigation. Support at the national level ensures that strategic cases reach the European level and serve building stronger protection of LGBTI rights.  Before the European courts, ILGA-Europe supports strategic cases by submitting third-party interventions before the ECtHR and providing strategic guidance in cases before the CJEU.  Where relevant, we also consider submitting collective complaints to the European Committee on Social Rights and the European Commission.

ILGA-Europe also monitors and supports SOGIESC cases throughout the process of execution of judgments by the CoE Committee of Ministers.  In collaboration with the European Implementation Network (EIN) and our members and partners, we file Rule 9 submissions before the Committee of Ministers, provide briefings where the gaps exist and make recommendations to assist with the execution process. We also together with LGBTI organisations on national level, monitor implementation of relevant CJEU judgments, including filing complaints to the European Commission and making the case for infringement in case of ongoing non-implementation of judgments in national laws.

With this inventory ILGA-Europe wants to support members and partners across the region to identify trends and gaps in protection at the European level, and guide strategic litigation that support closing gaps in case law. The inventory can further strengthen cooperation and help guide our work and efforts by others in bringing forward and supporting strategic cases.

This inventory and continuous assessment of the European landscape informs ILGA-Europe’s ongoing engagement in strategic litigation through identification and support of strategic opportunities. If you have any questions or feedback about this, please write to katrin@ilga-europe.org.