An improved protection for the (mentally ill) trans parent: a queer reading of A.P., Garçon and Nicot v France

The European Court of Human Rights has been deciding cases concerning LGBT rights since the early 1980s. Its case law on trans rights has changed drastically through time, imposing upon the States of the Council of Europe certain minimum standards regarding the legal recognition of gender identity. In its recent judgment from April 2017 the Court laid down a new rule to be adopted by domestic legislation; namely, that the legal recognition of gender transition cannot be made conditional upon pursuing medical or surgical procedures which have (or are likely to have) sterilising effects. This article analyses the judgment from a critical perspective grounded on queer theory, weighting both the positive and the negative elements of the Court’s decision.