Surgery or hormone treatment will no longer be a requirement for those seeking to legally change their gender in the Czech Republic as the Ministry of Health has issued a relevant methodology in response to last year’s ruling by the Constitutional Court. The change will take effect from the beginning of July.
The requirement of surgery and castration for an official change in gender was contrary to human dignity, the Constitutional Court ruled, annulling the controversial sections of the law on specific health services.
Confirmation from a sexologist that the citizen in question is transsexual will remain as a requirement. “Once the sexologist confirms the diagnosis and you sign your informed consent, you will be issued the certificate one needs for the registry office to register your sex change,” the Ministry of Health said in its explanatory material.
Until now, it was necessary to undergo an operation approved by a commission of the Ministry of Health in order to change one’s gender under the law.
The Trans*Parent Association welcomed the new arrangements, describing the condition of castration as “inhumane”. However, the association added that the methodology is not sufficient, and trans people continue to be left in legal limbo.
“The castration condition was outdated, inhumane and made the Czech Republic one of the shameful exceptions in Europe,” said Viktor Heumann, the association’s president.
He said the European Court of Human Rights had recently said that process alone was not enough. “Without robust legislation, trans people are left in legal limbo, which can deepen again with each new government or minister,” he added.
Until now, to legally change one’s gender in the Czech Republic, one had to undergo surgery, approved by a commission of the Ministry of Health. A diagnosis of transsexuality usually takes 6-12 months. “A sexologist can work with you to create an individual treatment plan. It may include hormone treatment or surgery, but only if you want it yourself,” the Ministry of Health says.
The methodology, published in the Health Ministry Bulletin, describes the transition process, including the procedure at the registry office, and the options for medical care, now no longer compulsory.
“The emphasis is on informed consent, voluntary procedures and individual treatment plans. It is also newly clarified what kind of certificate can be issued and at what stage, and how it relates to the official change of data in the registry office,” the Health Ministry said in a press release.
At the same time, it is not necessary to change one’s name to a neutral one during the process. After the conditions are met, any name change is possible. “You make a declaration before any registry office and submit a certificate from a sexologist. If you do not make the declaration, the registry office will change the surname according to the new gender and if the name does not match the new gender, the registry office will file a notification to the court,” the Health Ministry added.
Following the Constitutional Court decision, the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Justice announced changes to several laws. Last year, then-Justice Minister Pavel Blazek (ODS) said the law had been ready for two years but there was no political consensus on it.
Last year, the Constitutional Court struck down a sentence from the Civil Code stating that “changing a person’s sex occurs through a surgical procedure, while at the same time, rendering the reproductive function impossible and transforming the sexual organs”. In the specific health services law, it deleted the sentence that “for the purposes of this law, gender reassignment of transsexual patients means the performance of medical procedures whose purpose is to effect gender reassignment by means of a surgical procedure with simultaneous disabling of reproductive function”.
The Czech Republic is one of the last countries in Europe to require compulsory castration for an official sex change. The country has faced criticism over the issue from international institutions and domestic organisations.
