ARC has posted a second legal case that we had translated, also from Switzerland, this one from 2019 and also upholding a child’s right to genital autonomy. As far as we know, this case is, like the previously posted 2013 case, unknown to the activist and scholar communities.

The Superior Court of the canton of Zurich refused to allow a mother to have her son circumcised for religious reasons. The court reached its decision partly due to the son’s unusual sensitivity due to unrelated past trauma he had suffered. The court held, “Parental decision-making authority… is, on one hand, subject to the child’s legal capacity and, on the other hand, restricted by the welfare of the child and respect for the personality of the child… [C]ircumcision is permissible with the consent of the parents if it does not endanger the welfare of the child. If circumcision would endanger the welfare of the child, there must be no intervention until the boy himself has the necessary competence to make a judgment and give valid consent.” (Section 5.1 of the case)

ARC had the case translated from German and we are hereby publishing the translation as we consider it an important case. ARC translations of other important European cases and law review articles related to genital autonomy are being prepared for a release in the near future.

Swiss-Zurich-Case-2019-English-Translation