Litigation Degree: First
Case No: 38291/2020
Issuing Court: Court of First Instances
Judgment: Unfavorable, the Court rejected the request for no being able to accurately determine the sex of the plaintiff
Judgment Date: 23/11/2020
Summary:
The plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the Court of First Instance, requesting a revision of their official records to accurately reflect a change in their gender status from female to male. However, the court dismissed the claim based on the findings of the applicant’s medical evaluation, which concluded that the plaintiff exhibits characteristics of both male and female genders.
Facts:
The plaintiff initiated legal proceedings before the Tunisian Court of First Instance in Medin on 23/11/2020, seeking relief for the amendment of personal data contained in official documents, specifically the modification of their name from Bushra to Bashir, to align with their gender transition from female to male. The plaintiff acknowledged having been born with a congenital anomaly comprising both male and female genitalia, for which they underwent surgical intervention to remove male reproductive organs. Nevertheless, as time went on, the plaintiff exhibited a stronger inclination towards male characteristics.
Judgment:
The court dismissed the claim on the grounds of lack of specific sex characteristics specified by the applicant. This decision was made after presenting the plaintiff to a medical committee with the expertise to determine the plaintiff’s sex. The Court also determined that Tunisian law does not provide a criterion for determining the applicant’s sex, and thus, relied on Islamic sharia law and Islamic jurisprudence. Consequently, jurisprudence provided three criteria for determining the applicant’s sexual nature: the morphological standard, the psychological standard, and the genetic standard. Applying these criteria, the court conducted a medical examination of the applicant, which revealed the presence of female genitalia, as well as male secondary sexual characteristics.