The federal government, through the CDU-led Ministry of Family Affairs and the SPD parliamentary group, has reacted cautiously to the push by three CDU-led states-Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt-to further tighten the Self-Determination Act.
The three states have called for an amendment to the law, citing the Liebich case, and plan to introduce a corresponding resolution at the Ministry of Justice Conference in Hamburg in mid-June.
Commenting on the matter, Johannes Fechner, the SPD parliamentary group’s Managing Director, told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that the group believes the current legislation is sufficient to prevent misuse. He added that if the Ministry of Justice Conference presents proposals, they would be examined, and the SPD would be ready to take action if practitioners in the states identify areas where the law needs improving.
The Ministry of Education, which is spearheading the federal government’s efforts on the Self-Determination Act, acknowledged the ongoing evaluation of the law. A ministry spokeswoman stated that any future legal or administrative action would be based on the outcomes of this evaluation, but predicted that no results would be available before the summer parliamentary recess.
The Self-Determination Act allows transgender, intersex, and non-binary people to change their gender and first name in the civil registry simply by submitting a declaration to the registry office, without impacting any medical treatments. This new law replaced the former Transsexual Law, which was in effect until October 2024. Under the old law, changing gender required obtaining two expert opinions and a judicial decision-a process that was frequently protracted and expensive, and criticized by medical associations.
