No. 07-00-384/2025-02  Date: 31. 3. 2026.

OPINION

The opinion was issued regarding the complaint by A.A. against the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Police Administration in Novi Sad, due to discrimination based on gender identity. The complaint stated that for several months he had been exposed to discriminatory treatment in the procedure for changing his personal identification number and ID card after gender reassignment, that medical documentation had been requested from him, that police officers did not know the procedure for issuing new personal documents, and that his personal matters (sex and sex change) were discussed publicly in the service hall in front of other citizens. The complaint further stated that the complainant was repeatedly asked to obtain documents himself from the registry office, which he had already submitted to the police administration, because of which the procedure for issuing personal documents lasted unnecessarily long (several months), and that due to the length of the procedure he was placed in a situation where he did not have personal documents corresponding to his gender identity. In the statement of the Novi Sad Police Administration, it was stated that on November 22, 2024, A.A. submitted a request for the change of his personal identification number and submitted the decision of the registry office on the change of sex marker; that he was informed that he needed to supplement the documentation, which he did not do, and that on January 8, 2025, he gave a statement on the record that he had submitted a request for the change of his personal identification number and on that occasion submitted the decision of the registry office on the change of name, as well as that he subsequently submitted a certificate from the City Administration on the decisions on the change of name and sex marker. It was further stated that the decision on the deactivation of the personal identification number and the assignment of a new personal identification number was issued on January 24, 2025, and that A.A. was then informed that he needed to submit a request for the issuance of a new ID card. The statement of the Police Administration further stated that A.A. submitted a request for the issuance of an ID card on July 7, 2025, and that the ID card was delivered to him on July 9, 2025. It was further stated that it had been established that the police officer had made a mistake by requesting the submission of a certificate from the registry office and by leaving the original decision of the registry office in the case file, because of which the officer was given an oral warning. The Commissioner established that the procedure for assigning a new citizen personal identification number lasted from November 22, 2024, to January 24, 2025, and that during that period the following was submitted to the Police Administration in Novi Sad: 1) the decision on the change of sex marker, which A.A. submitted with the request for the change of personal identification number on November 22, 2024; 2) the decision on the change of name, which the registry office submitted ex officio on November 25, 2024, and which A.A. submitted on January 8, 2025, when giving a statement on the record; and 3) the certificate of the registry office on the decisions issued, which A.A. subsequently submitted. It was further established that the Police Administration did not respond to the allegations in the complaint relating to the period from the change of personal identification number (January 2025) to the issuance of the ID card (July 2025), that A.A. had scheduled appointments for the issuance of an ID card in February, as well as to the allegations that employees of the Police Administration requested medical documentation on gender reassignment, discussed the complainant’s rights in the hallway in front of other citizens, and that the Police Administration did not submit evidence that the documentation which A.A. submitted with the request for the change of personal identification number was incomplete. The Commissioner further established that, in accordance with the applicable regulations, the police administration is authorized to obtain data from the registers ex officio, by inspecting official records, in order to establish the facts necessary for the issuance of an ID card, as well as that A.A., due to the failure of police officers to act in accordance with the regulations, was placed in a less favorable position based on gender identity. The Police Administration in Novi Sad did not submit evidence refuting the allegations in the complaint that A.A. was exposed to a humiliating and harassing environment based on gender identity in the procedures for changing his personal identification number and ID card. The actions of the employees of the Novi Sad Police Administration caused distress to the complainant, especially the circumstance that he was repeatedly asked to submit documentation which he had already submitted to police officers and to again explain to the officers in the registry office of the City Administration why he needed the same documents again. Namely, in the several-month procedure for issuing personal documents, A.A. was placed in a less favorable position compared to other citizens because he was exposed to an offensive and humiliating environment, as well as to a security risk and a risk in the exercise of rights because his gender identity differed from the data and photograph in the documents. Based on the above, and by applying the rule on shifting the burden of proof from Article 45 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, the Commissioner issued the opinion that, by the conduct of the employees of the Police Administration in Novi Sad towards A.A. in the procedures for changing his personal identification number and ID card, the Police Administration in Novi Sad created a degrading, humiliating and offensive environment for him based on gender identity, thereby violating the provisions of Article 12 in conjunction with Article 20 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. The Police Administration in Novi Sad was given a recommendation to send a written apology to A.A. for such conduct by the employees of the Police Administration in Novi Sad, as well as to conduct training for employees of the Police Administration in Novi Sad who work on the issuance of personal documents so that they become better acquainted with the procedure and the importance of proper conduct when it comes to the legal transition of transgender persons, and also to comply in its future work with the regulations on the prohibition of discrimination.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Milan Antonijević