On 12 September 2000, in Vienna, member states of the International Commission on Civil Status (CIEC) sign Convention No. 29 on the recognition of decisions recording a sex reassignment.

The multilateral treaty provides that final court or administrative decisions of a contracting state are recognised in the others if the person was a national or habitual resident of the issuing state. Recognition may be refused if physical adaptation was not carried out and recorded, on public-policy grounds, or in case of fraud.

A recognising state updates the birth certificate. The depositary is the Swiss Federal Council; the authentic language is French. Entry into force: 1 March 2011. Parties: the Netherlands and Spain.

The convention does not regulate further civil consequences, left to domestic law.

For CIEC civil-status cooperation, 12 September 2000 marks the Vienna signature.

The text is on the CIEC website.

CIEC Convention No. 29 of 12 September 2000 remains the European instrument for recognising such decisions.

Image: Vienna; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: CIEC Convention on sex reassignment recognition. Treaty text: CIEC — Convention No. 29.