FINLANDIA The Gender confirmation of transsexual individuals Act
According to the decision of the Parliament it is stipulated:
1 §
Confirmation requirements:
A person is to be confirmed to belong to a gender opposite to what he or she has been marked in the census mentioned in the Census Act (507/1993) in case he or she:
1) provides a medical statement of permanently belonging to the opposite sex and that he or she lives in the gender accordingly and the fact that he or she
is either sterilized or sterile for some other reason;
2) is of legal age;
3) is not married neither in registered partnership; and
4) is a Finnish citizen or has permanent residence in Finland.
2 §
An exception to the confirmation requirements
Unhindered of what is stipulated in 1 § 3rd paragraph, a person in matrimony or inregistered partnership can be confirmed belonging to the opposite sex than he or she has been marked in the census, if the spouse or the other partner in the registered partnership has after the magistrate has explained facts mentioned in the second paragraph given his or her agreement in person to the magistrate.
When the membership in sex in the case mentioned in paragraph one is confirmed, marriage transitions into registered partnership and, vice versa, registered partnership transitions into marriage.
Change mentioned in the paragraph two is marked in the census along the marking meant in 3 §.
3 §
Authorities
Gender is confirmed after a signed application from the applicant the magistrate of person’s home municipality or the census municipality or if a person has neither home municipality nor census municipality in Finland, the magistrate in Helsinki. When the magistrate has confirmed person’s gender as in 1 §, the magistrate has to mark the confirmed gender in to the census registry without delay.
What is stipulated here about magistrate will in the County of Ahvenanmaa concern the County Government.
4 §
Appeals
Appeals for the decision meant in this Act are stipulated in Governing legislation use Act (586/1996).
5 §
The judicial effects of the confirmation
The gender confirmed as in this law is to be seen person’s gender when other legislation is applied unless otherwise stipulated.
6 §
Seite
2
Authorization
The medical statement in 1 § and the implementation of medical research and care aimed at sex change will be more precisely stipulated in the Statute given by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health can also give more precise guidelines.
7 §
Recognizing a foreign decision
In case a person has been in a foreign state confirmed with a legal decision belonging to an opposite gender than he or she is marked in the Finnish census,
the decision will be regarded legal without further affirmation, if when making the decision the person was a national of that state or had a residence in the
state where the decision was made.
8 §
Coming to effect
This law comes to effect January 1st, 2003
.
Before this law come to effect proceedings needed for its implementation can be taken.
HE 56/2001
StVM 7/2002
EV 49/2002
Naantali, June, 28th 2002
The President of the Republic
TARJA HALONEN
Minister of Services
Eva Biaudet
