‘Dee is one of approximately just 6,000 transgender people to have obtained a GRC under the Gender Recognition Act since it came into force in 2005. This statistic speaks volumes when compared with the actual number of trans people living in the UK which, according to the Government Equalities Office, is estimated at between 200,000 and 500,000.’
Each Other, 20th May 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘This case concerns an appeal by Alfred McConnell (previously anonymised as TT in the first instance decision). Mr McConnell was born female but around 10 years ago, at the age of 22, transitioned to become male, undergoing testosterone treatment and a double mastectomy. His passport and medical records recorded him as male. In September 2016, Mr McConnell commenced fertility treatment in order to have a child. He was also recorded as male at the fertility clinic. A gender recognition certificate was awarded shortly after in April 2017 so that Mr McConnell could be legally recognised as male. In January 2018, he gave birth to a son, who continued to be known as YY in this appeal. When registering the child’s birth, Mr McConnell was informed that he had to be recognised as the child’s mother on the birth certificate. He sought judicial review of this decision, claiming that he should be recognised as ‘father’, ‘parent’ or ‘gestational’ parent, and that being recognised as ‘mother’ interfered with his and YY’s rights under Article 8 and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. A declaration of parentage, that Mr McConnell is the father, was also made on behalf of YY, under section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986.’
Transparency Project, 10th May 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The High Court has granted a campaign group permission for a judicial review challenge over Oxfordshire County Council’s guidance on transgender issues in schools.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A transgender man who gave birth has lost his appeal court battle to be registered as a father in a case that wrestled with the legal definition of motherhood and transgender rights.’
The Guardian, 29th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In Forstater v CGD (2019), a think tank did not renew its contract for consultancy services with the claimant, Maya Forstater, allegedly because of Forstater expressing so-called ‘gender critical’ beliefs. Forstater claimed that she had suffered direct discrimination for having a protected belief under section 10 of the Equality Act 2010. In a preliminary decision, the employment tribunal considered whether the claimant’s belief was indeed protected. Tayler J identified the core of the claimant’s belief to be that sex is biologically immutable and, in no circumstances, is a trans woman ‘a woman’ or a trans man ‘a man’, even when the person in question has a Gender Recognition Certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (paragraph [77]). Due to the belief’s ‘no circumstances’ aspect, the judge labelled it ‘absolutist’ ([84]).’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 22nd March 2020
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in an appeal brought by a non-gendered person, Christie Elan-Cane, challenging the Government’s policy not to issue non gender-specific “X” passports to non-gendered, non-binary and other trans persons who do not identify as, or exclusively as, male or female.’
Blackstone Chambers, 10th March 2020
Source: www.blackstonechambers.com
‘R (on the application of Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department with Human Rights Watch intervening [2020] EWCA Civ 363. When we apply for a passport, we are generally asked to state on the form whether we are a man or a woman, and this is generally reflected in our passports. However, in our modern day and age, there are now more than two genders – some people can choose to define as gender neutral, essentially meaning that they don’t like to describe themselves using the normal terms of “man” or “woman”. MX Elan-Cane is one of those individuals. They sued the Home Office because there was no “X” (as in, no gender neutral) option on the passport form as it was a breach of their Human Rights. The High Court said that yes, this engaged Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention (the right to private and family life), but the current passport policy did not breach that right. The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court, both that this engaged Article 8, but that the rights to a private life were not breached here.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 12th March 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A campaigner who wants passports to include a category for those who do not identify as male or female has lost a Court of Appeal challenge over gender neutral passports.’
The Independent, 10th March 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A trans woman who threatened shop staff with a claw hammer escaped prison after a court heard there was no way to confirm her gender.
Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2020
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The case of R (Miller) v The College of Policing & The Chief Constable of Humberside [2020] EWHC 225 (Admin) is yet another decision arising out of an individual’s use of Twitter to share transphobic, or as they see it “gender critical”, views.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 21st February 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Progress to improve diversity in the judiciary is too slow and there has been stagnation in the appointment of BAME judges, according to a damning report by an influential law reform group whose head warns that senior roles are still “dominated by white men”.’
The Guardian, 29th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Claimant’s belief in Forstater – that “sex is biologically immutable” — denied trans people their legal right to be recognised as the sex they had transitioned to even when they had obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate. This right has been recognised for over a decade by the European Convention on Human Rights (“the Convention”) and by domestic law in the Gender Recognition Act 2004. The Claimant’s belief — in the words of Judge Tayler — also violated the dignity of trans people and created an “intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment” for them.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 24th January 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Forstater v CGD Europe & Others [2019] UKET 2200909/2019. Last month, the Central London Employment Tribunal held that a woman’s belief that “sex is biologically immutable” was not protected as a philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd January 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The latest article from Family & Civil pupil Samuel Peake looks at how the term ‘mother’ was defined for the first time in common law earlier this year by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane.’
KCH Garden Sq, 12th December 2019
Source: kchgardensquare.co.uk
‘An advert saying “You do the girl boss thing” has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).’
BBC News, 8th January 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘And so, we reach the end of another year. And what a year it has been. As well perhaps the most tumultuous period in British politics for decades, this year saw the first ever image taken of a black hole, a victory for the England men’s cricket team at the World Cup, the discovery of a new species of prehistoric small-bodied human in the Philippines and signs that humpback whale numbers in the South Atlantic have bounced back thanks to intensive conservation efforts. And the law? Well, rather a lot has happened really. As the festive season draws near, what better way is there to celebrate than to rewind the clock and relive the 10 cases which have defined 2019?’
UK Human Rights Blog, 19th December 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A researcher who lost her job after tweeting that men cannot change their biological sex has lost an employment tribunal after her opinions were ruled “absolutist”.’
The Independent, 19th December 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2025