Roetzheim v . Paul KARA v . In which a trans man took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, but failed to secure the right to be recognised as the father of his children. In this case, heard by the ECHR in 1998, two trans women claimed that the UK government's refusal to correct their birth certificates violates the European Convention for the Protection of Human Right and Fundamental Freedoms. Court criticises UK government Kristina Sheffield v .
P explains how it all began.
This judgment upheld the decision of a lower court that trans woman Christie Lee Litteton was legally male, and that her marriage to her late husband had been invalid. They responded by claiming that she was legally male and as such could not be the surviving spouse of a man. The judgment which established in New Zealand law the principle that, for the purposes of marriage, trans people should be legally recognised in their reassigned sex. In this case, Canada's Supreme Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples have the same rights and obligations under family law as unmarried heterosexual couples. All Rights Reserved.