Decision of the Court of Cassation, I Civil Section, No. 15138 of 20 July 2015

The Court of Cassation annulled the decision of the judge on the merits, and upheld an application of recording a change of sex in the vital records, although the applicant had not undergone surgery to change sexual characteristics. In the view of the Court, the hormonal therapies and psychological treatments to which the applicant had made recourse showed how closely gender identity is linked to personality rights. The principle of legal certainty may impose restrictions on these rights, not however at the point of create an illicit interference by State authorities with the individuals’ private life. The decision of the Court grounded its basis on an interpretation of the applicable norms (law No. 164/1982 and legislative decree No. 150/2011) in line with earlier jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights relevant to Article 8 of the ECHR.