This list contains cases of the European Commission of Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) and United Nations Human Rights Committee (UN HRC) related to LGBTQ people. According to one study of the European human rights system, recognition of an LGBT right by the ECtHR increased the likelihood that other countries in the Council of Europe would adopt the LGBT right as policy.
Council of Europe European Commission of Human Rights This table is for cases heard only by the European Commission of Human Rights, a human rights body of the Council of Europe disbanded in 1998. Cases heard by the commission and subsequently the European Court of Human Rights are listed in the next table. Both the commission and the court interpret the European Convention on Human Rights. Date of ruling Case Notes Outcome 1955 W. B. v. Germany (no. 104/55) Criminalization of sex between men Inadmissible 1975, September X. v. Germany (5935/72) Criminalization of sex between men Inadmissible 1977, December X. v. Germany (no. 6699/74) Gender reassignment and its consequencesFriendly settlement 1982, May X. Ltd. and Y. v. United Kingdom (no. 8710/79) Freedom of assembly, expression and association Inadmissible 1983, May X. and Y. v. United Kingdom (9369/81) Deportation of one member of a same-sex coupleInadmissible 1983, October B. v. United Kingdom (9237/81) Criminalization of homosexual acts between soldiers Inadmissible 1986, May S. v. United Kingdom (11716/85) Right to remain in a tenancy after partner's death Inadmissible 1986, July Johnson v. United Kingdom Criminalization of homosexual sex parties Inadmissible 1987, July W. J. and D. P. v. United Kingdom Deportation of one member of a same-sex couple Inadmissible 1988, March F v. Switzerland (no. 11680/85) Criminalization or detention Inadmissible 1988, May Morissens v. Belgium (no. 11389/85) Freedom of assembly, expression and association Inadmissible 1988, December James v. United Kingdom (no. 10622/83) Gender reassignment and its consequences No violation 1989, March W. v. United Kingdom (no. 11095/84) Gender reassignment and its consequences No violation 1989, October C. and L. M. v. United Kingdom (no. 14753/89) Residence permits, asylum and extradition Inadmissible 1989, November Eriksson and Goldschmidt v. Sweden (no. 14573/89) Refusal of marriage of transgender woman to another woman Inadmissible 1990 Z.B. v. United Kingdom (16106/90) Residence permits, asylum and extraditionInadmissible 1992 Kerkhoven and Hinke v. Netherlands (15666/89) Refusal of second parent adoption to a lesbian couple Inadmissible 1992 Zukrigl v. Austria (17279/90) Age of consent Inadmissible 1995 Wilde, Greenhalgh and Parry v. United Kingdom (22382/93) Age of consent Struck out due to change in UK law 1995 H.F. v. Austria (22646/93) Age of consent Inadmissible 1996 Röösli v. Germany (28318/95) Housing tenure, social and employer's benefits Inadmissible 1997 Marangos v. Cyprus (31106/96) Criminalization of sex between men Violation of article 8 based on the court's finding in Modinos v. Cyprus 1997 L.F. v. Ireland (28154/95) Gender reassignment and its consequencesInadmissible 1997 X.,Y. and Z. v. United Kingdom Gender reassignment and its consequences None 1997 Roetzheim v. Germany Gender reassignment and its consequences Inadmissible 1998 Sobhani v. Sweden (No. 32999/96) Residence permits, asylum and extradition Struck out 1998 Kara v. United Kingdom Dress code Inadmissible
European Court of Human Rights A 2021 examination of the ECtHR's rulings on people seeking asylum on the grounds of their sexual orientation between 1990 and 2019 found that of 23 cases, 20 were declared inadmissible, 2 were denied, and one violation was found. This does not count cases that were struck out.
Concluded cases