Friday, Polish President Andrzej Duda vetoed the law on Gender Accordance, which had been previously approved by the Polish Parliament (Sejm). The act will now return to the Sejm, where the veto can only be rejected with 3/5 of votes.
According to ILGA Europe, the Gender Accordance Act is an attempt to codify the legal gender recognition process for the first time. Previously, trans people in Poland had to go through a series of court proceedings – a confusing and stressful process – and endure lengthy waiting times for decisions. Now anyone applying for legal gender recognition will have to fulfil three criteria: they must be a Polish citizen; unmarried and present two supporting medical opinions for assessment by a regional court.
Transgender Europe (TGEU) urged the Sejm to respect all trans people in Poland, and to exercise their power in refuting the President’s veto. Executive Director of TGEU, Julia Ehrt said “It is appalling that President Duda has refused to listen to the approval of the Sejm, and has single-handedly ignored the needs and human rights of trans people in Poland.”
