Queering the Form of the Judgment
On Misgendering, Deadnaming and Cisnormative Fact Construction in the Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights
Abstract
In TH v Czech Republic (2025), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found in favour of a non-binary applicant for the first time. However, throughout its judgment, the ECtHR also misgendered the applicant by using masculine pronouns. In this article, we explore the effects of such seemingly small aspects of the judgment’s form through a queer lens. Focusing on ECtHR decisions concerning trans* and gender diverse people, we argue that misgendering, deadnaming and the use of pathologizing language produce a cisnormative “background”, which can have a “disorienting” effect on queer readers and a “straightening” effect on society more broadly.
Keywords: European Court of Human Rights; judgment; form; trans*; gender diverse; misgendering; deadnaming; pathologization; cisnormativity.
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