The Italian law that annuls a marriage when one of the partners changes gender cannot stand because it ignores the possibility the couple may choose to remain together, the Constitutional Court has ruled.
The ruling late Wednesday, striking down the Italian law, could open the door to legalizing civil unions, some observers say.
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday began hearing the case of a woman, Alessandra Bernaroli, who saw her nine-year marriage annulled after undergoing male-to-female sex-change procedures five years ago.
Italy's 15 Constitutional Court judges overturned the initial marriage annulment made by a Bologna court as well as a subsequent appeal that upheld the initial ruling against Bernaroli, a 43-year-old bank employee.
"I think this is the only surgical intervention that causes the annulment of marriage," Bernaroli said earlier this week of the sex-change operation which under Italian law leads to the automatic suspension of the civil effects of marriage.
Bernaroli, then named Alessandro, married in a religious ceremony in 2005, four years before undergoing surgery in Thailand to become a woman.
She noted that "the church has never annulled our marriage".
The Constitutional Court said it was aiming to balance "the State's interest in not changing the model of heterosexual marriage...and the interest of the couple where one of the two components changes sex".
It also suggested lawmakers consider establishing "an alternative form" of marriage, triggering suggestions that civil unions be recognized in law.
Lawyer Giovanni Genoa, representing a group advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, said that while civil unions are not yet recognized in Italy, this ruling will help lead to change.
Added Bernaroli: "Meanwhile, we have won and it is not a trivial matter".
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