Out of the Box? Domestic and Private International Law Aspects of Gender Registration

Abstract

The legal regulation of gender identity seems to be in a state of flux. This paper compares the German and Dutch legal systems with regard to the registration of a person's sex, focusing on the possibility in both countries not to register a baby's sex until it can be clearly determined. In both systems, it has thus become possible that a person has no specified gender for a considerable period of time. These persons may encounter various kinds of legal problems, since the two jurisdictions have not been adapted to accommodate them. In addition, two potential problems regarding private international law issues are discussed.