"Man Changed Gender". The GKU "Kyzmat" Explained Why It Is Necessary to Amend the Law on Assigning a PIN

Today, January 19, the committee on science, education, innovative development, information technologies, culture, sports, and youth affairs of the Jogorku Kenesh reviewed a draft law amending the law regulating the assignment and modification of the PIN. The existing version of the law provides certain grounds for changing the PIN, which include:

• correction of the date of birth, if provided for by the civil status legislation;
• the presence of identical PINs among several citizens;
• errors in already assigned PINs regarding gender and date of birth;
• norms concerning the protection of the rights of participants in criminal proceedings, in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers;
• in exceptional cases — correction of technical errors made before July 1, 2017.

The rules for assigning and changing the PIN will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Deputy Seidbek Atambaev emphasized that this draft law, in general, protects the rights of citizens; however, it may also weaken the control of the Jogorku Kenesh. "We must support this draft law. But it is worth noting that among the positive aspects, there are also negative ones that need to be discussed. One of them is the transfer of broad powers to the Cabinet of Ministers, which could theoretically expand the grounds for changing the PIN without the involvement of parliament, thereby weakening parliamentary control," he noted.

In response, First Deputy Minister of Digital Development Nursultan Kubanov stated that parliament has the right to make amendments to the law in accordance with its regulations.

In response to this, Atambaev added that it is important to ensure parliamentary control over subordinate acts when supporting the draft law, so that the reasons for changing the PIN remain strictly technical and human rights-oriented. The Cabinet of Ministers should inform the Jogorku Kenesh of its decisions, or clear boundaries for the grounds for changing the PIN should be established.

Deputy Director of the State Institution "Kyzmat" Ernes Dosaliev noted that deputies should not worry about the exclusion of the list of grounds from the law, as these points will be transferred to subordinate acts.

For example, emergency situations may arise related to transgender requirements. We received a statement from a man who has changed his gender to female. Until his PIN is changed, he will face serious difficulties in accessing services in Kyrgyzstan. This is just a hypothetical case.

Dosaliev also added that it will take a long time to introduce such gender norms into the law. However, if these issues are regulated by subordinate acts, the citizen's problem can be resolved more quickly by issuing the appropriate decree. He believes that changes to the law are necessary in light of current demands, including transgender appeals.