Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) judicial review update
The Court of Session OKs the UK Government's and so it is able to block the passing of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
It is highly dispiriting that the Court of Session has found the UK Government's extraordinary use of Section 35 sound.
It is apparently the case that a Bill proposed in the Scottish Parliament—regardless of how considerable the time spent debating it, or how large a majority of cross-party MSPs vote to pass it—can be overridden with a simple Order from Westminster if it insists it may interfere with reserved matters. This is doubly bewildering when, after years of exacting debate and granular exploration of the topic within the Scottish Parliament, it is accepted that the Secretary of State who issued the Order "was constrained by a four week statutory timeframe and the obligation upon him to inform himself" which "did not permit an extensive information gathering exercise as had been carried out by the Scottish Parliament".
The situation therefore remains the same for trans people in Scotland seeking the streamlined, robust and humane legal gender recognition their parliament drafted and voted for: the UK Government says no. Whilst disappointing, Gendered Intelligence will continue to advocate for change for the better for all trans people across the UK.