First reading of the draft bill on gender harmonization withdrawn from 46th session of the Sejm

Chairman of the Sejm Ewa Kopacz announced on 23.07.2013 that, after consultation with the Council of Elders (Steering Committee of Sejm i.e. the lower Chamber of Polish Parliament)…

Chairman of the Sejm Ewa Kopacz announced on 23.07.2013 that, after consultation with the Council of Elders (Steering Committee of Sejm i.e. the lower Chamber of Polish Parliament), she decided to remove from the agenda of the 46^th session (which was held on 23-27 of July) first reading of the parliamentary bill on gender harmonization, as contained in the Parliamentary File nr 1469. The bill, as introduced by the group of envoys from the new-left party Palikot’s Movement, is aimed at introducing to Polish law some categories of gender ideology, providing with legal procedure of changing the sex-information as contained in birth certificate, on the ground of personal subjective convictions as to possessing different sax than the bilogical one, which was declared upon the birth.

Ordo Iuris believes that the Council of Elders followed suggestions made by the Ordo Iuris, which raised procedural irregularities in proceeding the bill. Ordo Iuris has discovered that, by the 21^st of July, the Parliamentary File 1469 contained different project than declared. There was available only an earlier (submitted on May 2012), more radical but obviously unconstitutional version of the bill. This earlier version was withdrew by envoys who introduced the bill in order to make self-amendments. It was submitted again (on 3^rd January 2013) in a slightly moderated version which was intended to have first reading procedure on 26^th of July. Unfortunately, Parliamentary File 1469 contained the first version of the bill. Ordo Iuris prepared an analysis on this irregularities and sent it to some of the Council of Elders members, as well as to the press. In effect, the Parliamentary File 1469 was corrected and decision removing the bill from the 46^th proceeding’s agenda was taken.

Chairman of the Sejm Ewa Kopacz announced on 23.07.2013 that, after consultation with the Council of Elders (Steering Committee of Sejm i.e. the lower Chamber of Polish Parliament), she decided to remove from the agenda of the 46^th session (which was held on 23-27 of July) first reading of the parliamentary bill on gender harmonization, as contained in the Parliamentary File nr 1469. The bill, as introduced by the group of envoys from the new-left party Palikot’s Movement, is aimed at introducing to Polish law some categories of gender ideology, providing with legal procedure of changing the sex-information as contained in birth certificate, on the ground of personal subjective convictions as to possessing different sax than the bilogical one, which was declared upon the birth.

Ordo Iuris believes that the Council of Elders followed suggestions made by the Ordo Iuris, which raised procedural irregularities in proceeding the bill. Ordo Iuris has discovered that, by the 21^st of July, the Parliamentary File 1469 contained different project than declared. There was available only an earlier (submitted on May 2012), more radical but obviously unconstitutional version of the bill. This earlier version was withdrew by envoys who introduced the bill in order to make self-amendments. It was submitted again (on 3^rd January 2013) in a slightly moderated version which was intended to have first reading procedure on 26^th of July. Unfortunately, Parliamentary File 1469 contained the first version of the bill. Ordo Iuris prepared an analysis on this irregularities and sent it to some of the Council of Elders members, as well as to the press. In effect, the Parliamentary File 1469 was corrected and decision removing the bill from the 46^th proceeding’s agenda was taken.