The law on self-determination with regard to gender entry (, SBGG), unofficially also called the Self-Determination Act () is intended to make it easier for

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...

and

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

people in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to have their gender entry and

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changed. A

draft bill A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to substantially alter an existing law. A bill does not become law until it has been passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Bills are introduced in the leg ...

of the law has been available since May 2023. Following detailed changes, it was passed as a government draft on 23 August 2023. Further changes were made before it was adopted by the

German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

on 12 April 2024 and passed the

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on 17 May 2024. The law was promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt on 21 June 2024 and came into force on 1 November 2024. The law stipulates that the gender entry and first name can be changed by simply making a declaration at the

Standesamt A Standesamt (, plural "Standesämter", ) is a German civil registration office, which is responsible for carrying out the tasks stipulated in the Civil Status Act ('' Personenstandsgesetz''), in particular for maintaining civil status registers ...

; 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 ('', TSG''), which prescribes a complex expert procedure and judicial recognition of the changes for changing the gender entry and name, has been repealed. 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 In German politics, a traffic light coalition () is a coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens. It is named after the parties' traditional colours, respectively red, y ...

and voted upon in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

on the 12 April 2024. It was adopted with 372 votes in favour, 251 against, 11 abstentions and 100 absent. The law passed the Bundesrat on 17 May 2024. A motion to refer the matter to the mediation committee (') failed to gain a majority. The law was promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt on 21 June 2024 and came into force on 1 November 2024.

Criticism

Queer associations criticised the final draft for the 3-month waiting period, which did not previously exist in TSG and § 45b PStG. Furthermore, trans people with

legal guardians A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court or otherwise has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, cal ...

(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. In a letter dated 13 June 2024,

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Reem 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

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rejected the accusations. For years,

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

organisations have accused Alsalem of abusing her position to spread anti-trans policies. 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". The letter was signed by hundreds of women's and LGBTI organisations, including the

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and ILGA World.

Gallery of the law published in the Federal Law Gazette

File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 1.png, Page 1 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 2.png, Page 2 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 3.png, Page 3 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 4.png, Page 4 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 5.png, Page 5 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 6.png, Page 6 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 7.png, Page 7 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 8.png, Page 8 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 9.png, Page 9 File:BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 206 S. 10.png, Page 10

References

{{LGBTQ in Germany Law of Germany Transgender rights in Germany 2024 in LGBTQ history Transgender law

Details

Legislative history

Criticism

Gallery of the law published in the Federal Law Gazette

See also

References