Polish President Andrzej Duda on Friday vetoed the Gender Accordance Act which was approved by the Polish Parliament (Sejm) in July this year.

The act will now return to the parliament where the veto can only be rejected with 3/5 of votes.

According to advocacy group Transgender Europe, the Gender Accordance Act ensures that ‘no one, except for the applicant, is involved in the gender recognition process.’ A transgender person will not require any surgery, medical intervention or hormone therapy.

To apply for recognition, the applicant will need to be a Polish citizen, unmarried and present two independent confirmations (not older than 12 months) of ‘being a person of a different gender identity than the gender legally assigned’ from a clinical psychologist who is also a sexologist, a psychiatrist or a sexologist who is also a medical doctor.

The application will then be assessed by a regional court in Łodz (which will also be the only court assessing these applications) within three months of submission.

The applicant will also receive a new birth certificate and new documentation proving their education and employment history.

The Act was introduced by the country’s first transgender MP, Anna Grodzka, in May 2012, and it was passed on 23 July by 252 votes to 158, with 11 absentations.