German federal law on the free and independent determination of legal gender
Status: In force
Countries in Europe allowing gender self-identification
The law on self-determination with regard to gender entry (German: Gesetz über die Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag, SBGG), unofficially also called the Self-Determination Act (German: Selbstbestimmungsgesetz) is intended to make it easier for transgender, intersex and non-binary people in Germany to have their gender entry and first name changed.
A draft bill of the law has been available since May 2023. Following detailed changes, it was passed as a government draft on 23 August 2023.[1][2] Further changes were made before it was adopted by the German Bundestag on 12 April 2024[3] and passed the German Bundesrat on 17 May 2024.[4] The law was promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt on 21 June 2024 and came into force on 1 November 2024.[5]
The law stipulates that the gender entry and first name can be changed by simply making a declaration at the Standesamt; A three-month waiting period must be observed beforehand. Medical measures are neither regulated nor mandated by the SBGG.
With the entry into force of the Self-Determination Act on 1 November 2024, the Transsexuals Act (German: Transsexuellengesetz, TSG), which prescribes a complex expert procedure and judicial recognition of the changes for changing the gender entry and name, has been repealed.[6] It also replaced the main provisions introduced by the Third gender law, which previously only allowed intersex people to legally identify as a third, non-binary gender.
Details
In the version of the government draft of 23 August 2023, the SBGG provides for a standardized regulation for trans and intersex people. To change the gender entry and first name, all that is necessary is a declaration to the registry office (§ 2 Para. 1), as well as the assurance that the chosen gender entry or first name best corresponds to the gender identity (§ 2 Para. 2 and 4). For minors over 14 years of age, the consent of a legal representative (or the family court) should be necessary (Section 3 Paragraph 1), for minors under 14 years of age the legal representative should be able to make the declaration themselves (Section 3 Paragraph 2). According to the draft, the declaration must be announced to the registry office three months in advance (§ 4). After the change, a blocking period of one year (§ 5) will apply. Documents that still contain the old first names or the old gender entry should have to be reissued upon request (§ 10).
Domestic rules (Section 6 Paragraph 2) and sport (Section 6 Paragraph 3) should be independent of gender entry. Medical measures should also not be regulated by the SBGG (Section 6 Paragraph 4).
In the event that a state of tension or defense is declared, the previous assignment to the male gender should remain in place with regard to "service with weapons" (military service) (§ 9). This should apply to changes in gender entry that were declared at the earliest two months before the defense case was established.
The SBGG contains a ban on disclosure, according to which it should be forbidden to reveal or research the previous gender entry and previous first names (§ 13). "For special reasons of public interest", e.g. B. for criminal prosecution, this ban is suspended (Section 13 Paragraph 1 Sentence 3). Anyone who violates the ban on disclosure and thereby intentionally harms the person concerned should commit an administrative offense and be liable to a fine of up to €10,000 (Section 14).
The federal government should be obliged to review the law within five years and report on it to the Bundestag.
Legislative history
The law was initiated by the progressive traffic light coalition and voted upon in the Bundestag on the 12 April 2024. It was adopted with 372 votes in favour, 251 against, 11 abstentions and 100 absent.[3]
The law passed the Bundesrat on 17 May 2024. A motion to refer the matter to the mediation committee (German: Vermittlungsausschuss) failed to gain a majority.[4]
The law was promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt on 21 June 2024 and came into force on 1 November 2024.[5]
Criticism
Queer associations criticised the final draft for the 3-month waiting period, which did not previously exist in TSG and § 45b PStG.[7] Furthermore, trans people with legal guardians (due to impairments or disabilities) would not get self-ID under the draft. Legal guardians should be there to protect vulnerable people from things like giving away their possessions, but not to prevent them from coming out as trans, the association "Queer Handicap" argued.[8]
In a letter dated June 13, 2024, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against WomenReem Alsalem criticised the Self-Determination Act. She cautioned that the current measures in place to safeguard women and girls from male perpetrators of violence were inadequate, and highlighted the potential for minors aged 14 and above to alter their gender registration without the consent of their legal guardians. Furthermore, she identified the prohibition on disclosure as a potential infringement on freedom of expression. The Federal Government of Germany rejected the accusations.[9] For years, queer organisations have accused Alsalem of abusing her position to spread anti-trans policies.[10] In 2023, the women's rights organisation Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) published an open letter in which it made serious accusations against Alsalem: "The UN Special Rapporteur is abusing her position and power to promote discriminatory policies against trans people and disregard established human rights principles".[11] The letter was signed by hundreds of women's and LGBTI organisations, including the National Council of German Women's Organizations and ILGA World.[11]
Gallery of the law published in the Federal Law Gazette
