Gemany officially recognising 'third sex' other than male and female

Parliament ordered to create new term for birth certificates and other official documents by the end of next year

The case was heard at the German Federal Constitutional Court (Getty Images)

The highest court in Germany has ruled that a third sex must be included on official documents, becoming the first European country to make the change.

The Federal Constitutional Court has ordered the creation of a new term covering intersex people, using a “positive name for the sex” for birth certificates by the end of next year.

The ruling came after an intersex person, who is neither a man nor woman according to chromosomal analysis, brought a legal challenge after attempting to change their registered sex to “inter” or “divers”.

Authorities rejected the original application because under German civil law a child must be listed as male or female, or the section left blank.

Judges sitting in Karlsruhe ruled that the current requirements are incompatible with Germany’s constitution, violating provisions on privacy and discrimination.

“The legislature [parliament] has until 31 December 2018 to create a new regulation,” the ruling said.

“Courts and administrative authorities are no longer allowed to apply the relevant standards, insofar as they amount to an obligation to indicate sex to persons whose sex development has variations in relation to female or male sexual development and who therefore do not permanently assign themselves to male or female sex.”

The Federal Constitutional Court said the assignment of a sex was “of paramount importance for individual identity”, for both a person’s self-worth and how they are perceived by others.

Judges ruled that forcing people who were neither male nor female to leave forms blank was “unjustified” as basic law does not require a binary definition of sex.

Foreshadowing a backlash from right-wing groups, they added that “by simply opening up the possibility of another sex entry nobody is forced to associate with” it.

“Bureaucratic and financial cost, or regulatory interests of the state, cannot justify the refusal of a new, positive option for registrations,” said a ruling published on Wednesday.

“The legislature could waive the entry of sex in the register.

“Instead, it may also give the affected persons the opportunity to choose another positive name for gender that is not male or female.”

Campaigners from Transgender Europe and German rights groups welcomed the “ground-breaking” judgement, which closely follow's the country's legalisation of same-sex marriage.

“We welcome this ground-breaking judgement as a beacon of hope for anyone outside the norms of sex and gender in Germany and Europe. There are more than two genders and sexes,“ said a joint statement.

”It is high time to recognise the rights of every person not identifying as exclusively male or female, regardless of their sex characteristics.

“These individuals are particularly vulnerable to violence, discrimination and inequalities in a system that only knows ‘male’ or ‘female’.”