Legal briefing: Statelessness and the right to respect for private and family life October 2024 relevant, […] access to other identity documents” beyond birth certificates,128 but has not considered any subsequent cases on that explicitly emphasise a right to identity. Similarly, the ECtHR is yet to develop a more general obligation to assist individuals and their parents in registering births. In G.T.B., the Court stated that the obligation arose when it became clear that the applicant’s mother would not be able to produce the necessary documents, noting the role of authorities “to compensate for the mother’s failings”.129 As a result, while it took nine years for the authorities to approve the birth registration, the Court found Spanish authorities responsible only for the following four years of delay, for which there was no justification. Children of LGBTIQ+ parents The CJEU has recognised the importance of nationality - and proof thereof – in the context of children’s access to identity documents and right to free movement, linked to the fundamental importance of family life. The 2022 case of Rzecznik130 concerns the refusal to transcribe into the Polish register of civil status the birth certificate of a child issued by the Spanish authorities which later impacted the child’s freedom of movement and ability to obtain a passport. The case raised a number of issues under EU law. One question asked by the referring national court of Krakow was whether Article 7 CFR must be interpreted to mean that, in the case of a minor child who is a citizen of the Union and whose birth certificate issued by a Member State identifies a same sex couple as the child’s parents, the Member State of which that child is a national is obliged to transcribe such a birth certificate in order to enable the child to obtain an identity document.131 The CJEU interpreted Articles 20 and 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European132 Union, in conjunction with Articles 7, 21(1) and 24(2) CFR and Article 4(3) of Directive 2004/38/EC133, to mean that Member States are obliged to issue children of same-sex couples identity cards or passports without requiring transcription of birth certificates and also to recognise documents from other Member States that permit the right to move freely and reside within the territory of other Member States.134 The CJEU noted that Article 7 CFR, as well as Article 24 CFR guaranteeing the right of the child to have their best interests taken as a primary consideration, and a child’s right to maintain a regular and personal relationship and direct contact with their parents, are fundamental considerations.135 128 ECtHR, G.T.B. v. Spain (application no. 3041/19), 16 November 2023, paragraph 118. ECtHR, G.T.B. v. Spain (application no. 3041/19), 16 November 2023, paragraph 124. 130 CJEU, Case C-2/21, Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich, 24 June 2022. 131 CJEU, Case C-2/21, Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich, 24 June 2022, paragraph 25. 132 CJEU, Case C-2/21, Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich, 24 June 2022, paragraphs 33-40. The Court interpreted the Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union (2012) OJ C326/13, Articles 20(2)(a) and 21(1), read in conjunction with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Articles 7, 21(1) and 24(2). 133 Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC (OJ 2004 L 158, p. 77, and corrigendum OJ 2004 L 229, p. 35). 134 CJEU, Case C-2/21, Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich, 24 June 2022, paragraphs 38-40. 135 CJEU, Case C-2/21, Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich, 24 June 2022, paragraph 47. 129 23