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13 Mar 2020 2:04pm

The United Kingdom Court of Appeal refuses gender-neutral passports

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A lower court ruling opposing gender-neutral markings on passports was upheld by the UK Court of Appeal.

Christie Elan-Cane has proposed a policy to allow passport gender neutrality in 2018. Elan-Cane required passports for people who do not completely identify with either male or female, to have an "X" category. Elan-Cane argued that the current policy of binary gender disclosure violates Section 22 of the  Gender Recognition Act 2004 which protects transgender rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Convention criminalizes any official disclosure concerning a person's gender history, without the express consent of the individual.

Elan-Cane argued that the program was an unconstitutional violation of human rights but Lady Justice King disagreed in her judgment. King argued that the case involved the private life of Elan-Cane, not the public. As she noted, "the driver for change is the broad notion of respect for gender identity," she said, along with a few other judges, that it will ultimately drive progress in international public policy.

A few countries currently offer on their passports non-binary gender identity choices, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Nepal, Pakistan and Uruguay. The UK recognises the validity of those gender-neutral passports.


Tagged: UK Court Christie Elan-Cane Passport European Human Rights Justice King gender-neutral passports Article 8 Section 22 Gender Recognition Act
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