Paris not obliged to recognise third gender

A French person started the court case after the State turned down his request. He had wanted to change his "male" gender to "neutral" on his official birth certificate. That is reported by Legal Tribute Online. The plaintiff argued that his intersexuality had already been determined shortly after his birth and that this condition had not changed since then. He complained that his rights had been violated as he was registered as a male on his birth certificate.

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However, judges at the European Court of Human Rights disagreed, PRO reports. Even though the Court acknowledged that a discrepancy between legal and biological identity might cause "suffering and fear", it weighed the states' arguments more heavily. The French legal system is built on two genders, the judges argued. According to them, the legislative powers can change this. Still, a court cannot order them to do so because of the separation of powers.

To recognise a third "neutral" or "intersex" gender, the French authorities would need to change the law. The judges gave France the space to decide for itself how fast and to what extent it wants to do so, Today Times Live reports.