R (Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department was a UK court case that ruled that the Home Office did not have an obligation to offer a third gender "X" option on passports.[1]
| R (Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Supreme Court of the United Kingdom |
| Decided | 15 December 2021 |
| Citation | [2021] UKSC 56 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action | [2020] EWCA Civ 363 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Robert Reed, David Lloyd Jones, Mary Arden, Philip Sales, Vivien Rose |
Background
editLegal recognition of non-binary gender has advanced in the 2010s, with several governments introducing third gender options (usually in form of an "X" alongside "M" and "F") on passports, such as Australia, Argentina, Canada, Denmark, Nepal, and Uruguay. The International Civil Aviation Organization accepts "X" as an option for travel documents in its official guidelines.
While the UK currently does not offer a third gender option for passports, the 2010s saw an increase in calls for the introduction of such an option. Between July 2017 and March 2019, 83 MPs signed an early day motion calling for the British government to introduce a third gender on British passports.[2][3]
Summary
editChristie Elan-Cane is a British non-gendered activist who has been active in campaigning for LGBT+ rights since the 1990s.[4] With law firm Clifford Chance, Elan-Cane sued the Home Office in the 2010s over its refusal to issue passports with a third gender "X" option.[5]
In 2018, the High Court ruled in favour of the Home Office.[6]
In March 2020, the Court of Appeal confirmed the High Court ruling, finding that "there was no positive obligation on the state to provide an “X” marker in order to ensure the right of the Appellant to respect for private life."[7] The Court of Appeal also ruled that there was no consensus yet among the Council of Europe on gender neutral passports and that there was no wide-ranging plan for gender neutral options in British government ID systems.[8]
In January 2021, it was announced that the UK Supreme Court would hear the appeal in mid-July of that year.[9][10] In December 2021, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom issued its judgment, ruling against Elan-Cane. The court's judgment ruled that the European Convention on Human Rights did not require states to issue an "X" option and that there was "no legislation in the United Kingdom which recognises a non-gendered category of individuals." Elan-Cane pledged to appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights.[11]
References
edit
- ^ "R (Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department". Blackstone Chambers.
- ^ Rachael Bunyan (3 December 2019). "U.K. Government Taken to Court Over Refusal to Issue Gender Neutral Passports". Time. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ "X PASSPORTS FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH A PARTICULAR GENDER". UK Parliament. 12 July 2017.
- ^ "'Why I want gender-neutral UK passports'". BBC News. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Anastasia Kyriacou (24 October 2014). "Meet someone who isn't male or female and wants a new type of passport". PinkNews. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Josh Jackman (22 June 2018). "Non-gendered campaigner loses High Court battle for non-binary passports". PinkNews. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ "Media Summary - The Queen (on the Application of Elan-Cane) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) and Human Rights Watch (Intervener) [2020] EWCA Civ 363" (PDF). Judiciary.uk. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ "Christie Elan-Cane loses legal challenge over gender-neutral passports". BBC News. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Vic Parsons (29 January 2021). "UK's highest court confirms when it will hear landmark case on gender-neutral passports". PinkNews. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ "R (on the application of Elan-Cane) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent)". Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Joseph Lee (15 December 2021). "Gender-neutral passports: Campaigner Christie Elan-Cane loses Supreme Court case". BBC. Retrieved 18 December 2021.