“Today, there is simply no longer any reason to do it,” said Mr. Geiser in an interview published by Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung. “Everyone should be able to continue to describe themselves as man, woman or non-binary as they wish. But, for the State, this distinction should not matter.”
The 71-year-old former professor of private law and former deputy judge at the Federal Court is calling for the deletion of references to men or women in the civil status register. This removal would simplify a lot of things and would have no disadvantages, he adds.
No third gender
Very few relevant laws still make a distinction between the sexes in Switzerland, notes Mr. Geiser. “Most of the differences have already been abolished in recent years.” The retirement age of women has been brought into line with that of men, differences in widow’s pensions should no longer exist according to the European Court of Human Rights and criminal law is largely point-of-view neutral. of the kind, he lists. “All that remains is compulsory military service for which a distinction is made between men and women.”
The renowned jurist across Sarine, however, rejects the idea of including a third sex, promoted in particular by the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Bienne artist Nemo. “A third sex would certainly solve one problem, but would immediately create others, because even three sexes would not satisfy everyone,” notes Mr. Geiser. “My proposal goes even further.”
