Italian court recognises non-binary person’s gender identity in historic first

The Court of Rome has recognised a non-binary person’s gender identity for the first time in Italian history.

The historic ruling came after a hearing on 10 February in which lawyer Giovanni Guercio asked the court to recognise the non-binary gender identity of an individual named Alex. 

Trans people in Italy must go before the court if they wish to legally change their gender and name as well as amend official identification documents. Under Law 164/1982, people must undergo a two-step process that requires judicial authorisation to legally change their gender and name on the registry office as well as undergo gender-affirming surgery when “necessary”, according to Stonewall.

Guercio told Gay.it that the 7 March ruling was important as it’s a “pilot case” that paves the way for the rights of non-binary Italians in the future.

The lawyer explained that people in Italy have been “given the opportunity to rectify documents” in the past, but it was “solely for physical health reasons”. 

Guercio said the “greatest hope” is to update Law 164/1982 to better include a broad spectrum of gender identities. 

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