Swiss court rules teen can change gender entry without parents

16-year-old may change gender entry without parental consent Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has ruled that parents do not need to provide consent for a 16-year-old to change their gender entry in the civil register.

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The case involved around a couple and their daughter who was born in 2007. In November 2023, the child and adult protection authority asked the parents to hand over their daughter’s identity documents to the guardian so that a change of gender and first name could be made at the civil registry office. Such a procedure is provided for in Article 30a of the Civil Code (CC), which came into force on January 1, 2022. It applies to people over the age of 16 who are capable of judgment.

The parents unsuccessfully challenged their daughter’s decision before the Geneva courts. They are essentially of the opinion that a civil servant is not qualified to assess the capacity of a minor. Such a task must be entrusted to an experienced psychiatrist specialising in gender issues who can assess the effects of this administrative decision.

On Thursday, the Federal Supreme Court stated that the Geneva decision relates to the issuing of identity documents. The consent of the parents is not required for a change to the gender entry in the civil registrer. In assessing the case, the court also took into account the drafting history of Article 30a CC. This shows that the submission of a medical certificate should be expressly waived.

In the parliamentary debate about the article, the discussion mainly revolved around a type of parental agreement. The House of Representatives rejected such an agreement, while the Senate considered it necessary. In the end, a compromise was reached by setting the age limit at a minimum of 16 years.

Simplified procedure

The court points out that the new article in the law aims to simplify the process of changing gender in the civil register. The court procedure is replaced by a declaration and there is no need for medical reports or other conditions.

In this sense, the intention of the legislator is clear and the appellants fail to demonstrate that the interpretation of Article 30b by the Geneva judiciary is contrary to federal law. In the contested decision, the latter emphasized that the declaration before the civil registrar was merely an administrative act that had no connection with physical interventions for gender reassignment and was therefore revocable.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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