Jim Beaux
10-25-2008, 01:49 PM
The following was extracted from an article dated 1st Oct 2007.
...
According to Prof Douglas Sanders, a visiting lecturer at Chulalongkorn and Mahidol Universities, the European Court of Justice ruled in 1996 that discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment was discrimination on the basis of sex, thus contrary to EU law.
In 2002, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that post-operative transsexuals are entitled to have personal documentation, including birth certificates, drivers' licences and passports changed to reflect their gender identity.
In 2003, the same court also ruled that gender reassignment surgery was a legitimate medical procedure, and not elective plastic surgery, and should be covered by health insurance. Consequently, all EU countries are required to have laws consistent with these rulings.
It is now routine in countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and some South American countries, to alter the document of post-operative transsexuals, he said.
This year Brazil set another standard by ruling that gender reassignment surgery must be provided free of charge.
Asia is fast following the trend. China, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have now recognised post-operative transsexuals' rights to have their personal documents changed.
"In the Muslim world, the change is recognised in Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey, but not in Malaysia," he added.
Each country's recognition of transsexual gender identity differs, however. In Germany, the law allows changes to birth certificates only for those who undergo gender reassignment surgery, while the UK extends recognition to all cases where there has been a diagnosis of gender identity disorder and where the individual is living in the desired sex.
"Genital surgery has its risks, and individuals should not be pressured into seeking surgery in order to gain recognition," he said, urging Thailand to follow the practice in the UK.
...
NB Right now, ( Oct 2008 ), post op TS Joanne Cassar is being denied the right to marry by the High Court of Malta, despite the fact that other documents including birth certificate have been changed. This is directly in contradiction of an existing ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which in July 2002 found the UK guilty of breaching the rights of Christine Goodwin by not recognising her as female and not allowing her to marry. UK law has since been updated. Malta joined the European Union in 2004 and is therefore subject to the European Human Rights Act.
...
According to Prof Douglas Sanders, a visiting lecturer at Chulalongkorn and Mahidol Universities, the European Court of Justice ruled in 1996 that discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment was discrimination on the basis of sex, thus contrary to EU law.
In 2002, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that post-operative transsexuals are entitled to have personal documentation, including birth certificates, drivers' licences and passports changed to reflect their gender identity.
In 2003, the same court also ruled that gender reassignment surgery was a legitimate medical procedure, and not elective plastic surgery, and should be covered by health insurance. Consequently, all EU countries are required to have laws consistent with these rulings.
It is now routine in countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and some South American countries, to alter the document of post-operative transsexuals, he said.
This year Brazil set another standard by ruling that gender reassignment surgery must be provided free of charge.
Asia is fast following the trend. China, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have now recognised post-operative transsexuals' rights to have their personal documents changed.
"In the Muslim world, the change is recognised in Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey, but not in Malaysia," he added.
Each country's recognition of transsexual gender identity differs, however. In Germany, the law allows changes to birth certificates only for those who undergo gender reassignment surgery, while the UK extends recognition to all cases where there has been a diagnosis of gender identity disorder and where the individual is living in the desired sex.
"Genital surgery has its risks, and individuals should not be pressured into seeking surgery in order to gain recognition," he said, urging Thailand to follow the practice in the UK.
...
NB Right now, ( Oct 2008 ), post op TS Joanne Cassar is being denied the right to marry by the High Court of Malta, despite the fact that other documents including birth certificate have been changed. This is directly in contradiction of an existing ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which in July 2002 found the UK guilty of breaching the rights of Christine Goodwin by not recognising her as female and not allowing her to marry. UK law has since been updated. Malta joined the European Union in 2004 and is therefore subject to the European Human Rights Act.