Dutch government stops making Civil Code gender neutral

Weerwind considers it "fundamentally desirable" that the use of language in the law contains as few references to men or women as possible. A foreman should for example be renamed to the more gender neutral term ‘ganger’. Adjustments like these, however, "require a major legislative operation", he wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives. "All things considered", the minister is not in favour of this at present. However, some technical adjustments are possible.

At the request of the governing Liberal D66 party, the minister inventoried gender-specific designations in the Civil Code and looked at what was needed and possible to correct them. According to Weerwind, "in Book 1 of the Civil Code alone, almost half of the total number of articles would have to be adapted". Moreover, adapting articles is not without risk, the minister said.

For instance, formulations could become linguistically incorrect or lack clarity. According to Weerwind, the current language in the law "does not lead to bottlenecks or implementation problems in practice. Unless the law explicitly states otherwise, judges apply laws to persons regardless of gender," he wrote.

Birth certificate

As far as Weerwind is concerned, new laws should always be formulated in a gender-neutral way. He also plans to adapt terms with "male connotations in a purely technical sense" in the Civil Code wherever possible. This would include, for example, designations such as counsel commissioner or arbitrator. A neutral alternative can easily replace such terms. This adjustment can be arranged through a comprehensive law, changing several regulations.

The minister also wants to make it possible to put “parent from whom the child was born” on a birth certificate instead of mother or father. An amendment to a decree to this effect is already for advice before the Council of State. But "all things considered and given the scarce legislative capacity", Weerwind does not want a large-scale operation to change the language completely gender-neutral.

Scrutiny

The plans of Weerwind came under a lot of scrutiny on social media. Especially political figures from the right spectrum in the Netherlands were critical. ChristianUnion MP Mirjam Bikker wondered about the priorities of the minister, while Annabel Nanninga of the right-wing party JA21 talked about "useless whining".

D66 MP Lisa van Ginneken, a transgender person who asked for the inventory, understands that the minister cannot solve everything at once. "It is also complex and a lot of work." She welcomes the simpler adjustments to the Civil Code because it comes from a time "when only men could hold certain positions". The adjustment on the birth certificate and the commitment to formulate forthcoming laws in a gender-neutral way right away is also welcomed.