The Participation of the Public Prosecutor in Cases of Judicial Matter of Gender Change
Аннотация
In Polish civil procedure, a prosecutor may request the initiation of proceedings in any case,
as well as participate in any proceedings already underway, if, in his/her discretionary assessment, the
protection of the rule of law, citizens’ rights or the public interest so requires. In non-property matters
within the scope of family law, the prosecutor may fi le lawsuits only in cases specifi ed in the act. Th is
competence comes from the French model; it is deeply rooted in Polish legal tradition and is consistent
with European standards. Prosecutors have reported their participation in proceedings for the judicial
determination of gender as being for the purpose of protecting personal data, which has been assessed
diff erently. A revision of the procedure for judicial gender change was brought by the resolution of the
Supreme Court of 4 March 2025, which established that such changes will not take place, as before, by
way of an action for determination, but in non-contentious proceedings for rectifi cation of the civil status
record. However, this does not aff ect the legitimacy of the prosecutor, because gender determination
does not cause changes in family relations and therefore is not a family matter. De lege ferenda, it is necessary
to postulate comprehensive statutory regulation of the judicial matter of gender change.
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