Vilnius court orders changing gender marker in official records

Lithuanian passport
DELFI / Šarūnas Mažeika

“The applicant is recognized socially as a male person; therefore, the civil status records must correspond to the actual situation,” the Vilnius District Court said in its ruling.

According to the court, the transgender male, who has until now been identified in documents as a female, has, at his own expense, undergone a breast removal surgery, started hormone replacement therapy and dresses, speaks and behaves as a man.

There is a gap in Lithuania’s legal system as to sex change. The country’s Civil Code, adopted back in 2000, allows changing one’s sex, but this provision has not been working because a separate law on sex change needs to be adopted.

In the absence of such a law, the Vilnius civil registry office rejected the transgender person’s request to change the gender marker in the official records.

The court underlines that the fact that the Seimas has not passed the law does not constitute an obstacle to redressing a violation of a person’s rights.

An advisor to the mayor of Vilnius told BNS on Monday that the local authority would not appeal against the court’s decision.

The Lithuanian government last month gave two ministries until September to draft legislation on the provision of health services for persons with gender identity disorders.

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