02 September 2024
Für trans*Menschen geht es um alles
Rechte Kräfte in den USA, Polen und Ungarn führen in Echtzeit vor, was trans*Menschen auch in Deutschland drohen könnte, wenn die AfD an die Regierung käme. In Ungarn ist es inzwischen unmöglich, den rechtlichen Geschlechtseintrag oder vergeschlechtlichte Vornamen im Laufe des Lebens zu ändern, also irgendeine Veränderung der staatlich erfassten Informationen über das eigene Geschlecht zu bewirken. Im US-Bundesstaat Idaho wurde dieses Jahr ein Gesetz verabschiedet, das rechtlich definiert, dass es bei Menschen ausschließlich die beiden Geschlechter Männer und Frauen gäbe und dieses Geschlecht bereits vor oder bei der Geburt erkennbar sei. Diesem Drehbuch will auch die AfD folgen, wenn sie an die Macht käme. Continue reading >>
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05 June 2024
Trans Rights and Gender Recognition before the CJEU
On May 7, 2024, the Advocate General of the CJEU issued his Opinion on the Mirin case concerning the right to Legal Gender Recognition (LGR) for transgender persons. Yet, the solution offered by the AG deviates from the Court’s previous case-law on LGR, by making it about free movement rather than protection against discrimination, or fundamental rights. It also places the applicant, and those in a similar position, in an administrative situation that is defeating the very purpose of LGR – an issue that the AG himself acknowledges. A more satisfactory and ambitious alternative would instead be to frame the LGR as protected under the EU Charter. Continue reading >>17 April 2024
Und plötzlich selbstbestimmt
Der Bundestag hat das Selbstbestimmungsgesetz (SBGG) beschlossen. Endlich – denn nach der Ankündigung im Koalitionsvertrag und diversen vieldiskutierten Entwürfen war zuletzt über Monate unklar, was politisch hinter den Kulissen eigentlich geschieht, insbesondere wann (und ob) der Gesetzesentwurf zur finalen Abstimmung kommt. Das verabschiedete Gesetz kann – und muss – in Einzelfragen kritisiert werden, ein historischer Moment für trans, intergeschlechtliche und nicht-binäre Menschen in Deutschland war das aber allemal. Continue reading >>03 August 2023
“Blood On Your Hands”
Metaphors are not just rhetorical devices. They are also a significant part of legal reality. A look across the Atlantic shows that the effects they can have even entail risks for the constitutional democracy. This blog posts looks at the case of Zooey Zephyr, member of the House of Representatives in Tennessee, who was stripped of her speaking rights for calling out Republicans for having 'blood on their hands'. At present, however, legal interpretation does not allow an accurate grasp of such metaphors. Therefore, a rethinking is necessary. Continue reading >>
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21 February 2023
Ignorance and Evil
On 2 February 2023, the Hungarian Constitutional Court published its long-awaited decision on legal gender recognition. For the first time, the Constitutional Court reviewed the provisions introduced into the Act on Registry Procedure in late May 2020 requiring the registration of the sex at birth (instead of sex) and banning any modification to that registry entry. With its decision, the Constitutional Court chose to remain concordant with the perceived political expectations, blatantly served the interest of the government majority, and echoed their fixation of biologically determined sex. Continue reading >>17 February 2023
Incremental but Significant
On 6 February 2023, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled in favor of two transgender applicants seeking to change the gender marker on their identification cards. The Court held that the Hong Kong government’s policy unconstitutionally infringed upon their right to privacy. This is doctrinally and strategically consistent with the Court’s LGBTQ jurisprudence, which proceeds incrementally and is highly attuned to the (ever-shrinking) political space in which Hong Kong courts operate. Continue reading >>
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08 July 2022
Transgender Women Athlete Exclusion in Disguise
A heated debate about the participation of transgender and non-binary people in female competitions is on-going worldwide. Just last month, the International Swimming Federation adopted a new policy which prevents transgender women from participating in its female top-competitions. Without any possibility for the affected group of transgender women athletes to participate in FINA’s top-competitions, the policy is disproportionate and discriminatory, and has the potential to violate other human and children’s rights. Continue reading >>02 June 2022
Dating-Tipps vom Bundesverwaltungsgericht
Bundeswehrsoldat*innen mit besonderen repräsentativen Funktionen müssen beim Online-Dating Zurückhaltung üben. Diese Entscheidung des 2. Wehrdienstsenats des BVerwG vom 25. Mai 2022 ist nicht nur deshalb kritikwürdig, weil sie das Recht auf sexuelle Selbstbestimmung durch heteronormative Moralvorstellungen einschränkt. Ebenso problematisch ist, dass eine antidiskriminierungsrechtliche Betrachtung des Falls ausgeblieben ist. Continue reading >>06 April 2022
Evasive, Insensitive, Ignorant, and Political
Czech law stipulates that a trans person who seeks gender reassignment must undergo surgery “while simultaneously disabling the reproductive function and transforming the genitalia.” Although a majority of judges of the Czech Constitutional Court agreed that this requirement is clearly unconstitutional, the provision has nevertheless withstood constitutional scrutiny and remains part of the Czech legal order. Continue reading >>
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21 January 2021