The European Union's top court ruled Friday that every member country must recognize official changes to gender identity acquired elsewhere within the 27-nation political and economic bloc.
Legal experts say the ruling will boost protections for transgender people in the region.
The decision followed a case brought by a dual British-Romanian national named Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi. Mirzarafie-Ahi was registered at birth in Romania as female, then moved to Britain and obtained legal recognition of his male gender identity. Romanian authorities later refused Mirzarafie-Ahi's attempts to update his identity documents.
"Gender, like a first name, is a fundamental element of personal identity," the European Court of Justice said in a news release on its ruling.