In a significant step toward affirming the rights of transgender people in Poland, the country’s Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling that eliminates the requirement for trans people to involve their parents in gender recognition proceedings.

Until now, transgender individuals – whether child or adult – seeking to change their gender marker on official documents were required to sue their parents. This was due to a convoluted legal claim that there needs to be two opposing parties in any civil action, which seeking to change a gender marker is classified as. This added unnecessary distress and legal complexities, including for trans people whose parents have died.

The ruling, welcomed by Polish civil society organizations including Campaign against Homophobiaand Trans-Fuzja Foundation, underscores the need for Poland to streamline gender recognition procedures, aligning them more closely with international human rights standards. Indeed, uncertainties remain, including whether married transgender people must divorce in order to obtain legal gender recognition, since Polish law, despite human rights obligations otherwise, does not recognize same-sex marriages.

This ruling comes at a time when trans rights in Poland remain a contentious issue. Far-right rhetoricdenigrates gender identity recognition and broader lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Poland, rejecting international and European standards, as well as evolving medical consensus. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health has long advocated for simplified gender recognition procedures, warning that onerous barriers can “harm physical and mental health.”

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Poland is a party, guarantees the rights to privacy and to equal recognition before the law, which incorporate the right to legal gender recognition, free from harmful or disproportionate obstacles.

The European Court of Human Rights, has in multiple judgements stated that states have “a positive obligation to provide quick, transparent and accessible procedures” for changing registered sex markers and failure to do so violates the right to private life. The European Union’s LGBTIQ Equality Strategy (2020-2025) similarly promotes “accessible legal gender recognition based on self-determination and without age restriction.”

While Poland’s progress is commendable, the battle for trans rights is far from over. Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who promisedduring his campaign to introduce a simplified gender recognition process, now has an opportunity to follow through in consultation with Polish trans people. His government should act swiftly to introduce legislation upholding trans people’s full right to self-identification, free from onerous requirements.