Konstytucyjne uwarunkowania prawnego uregulowania kwestii tranzycji płci

Abstract

This article aims to indicate the constitutional conditions of gender transition of Poland. It argues that although the Polish Constitution does not directly regulate the situation of persons experiencing gender dysphoria, some specific guarantees regarding these persons might be reconstructed from the Constitution’s general clauses, such as the protection of human dignity and the right to decide about one’s own life. This primarily concerns the so-called right to respect and the protection of gender identity. It is the legislature’s ‘positive obligation’ to regulate the premises, procedure and consequences for gender recognition in offi cial documents. To date, however, there is still no law specifically addressing this issue. Courts are attempting to fill this legal gap, but their case law remains inconsistent. As a result, realising the right to respect and the protection of gender identity still encounters excessive (disproportionate) barriers in Poland.