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Ministers to face court challenge over gender-neutral passports Ministers to face court challenge over gender-neutral passports
(35 minutes later)
A campaigner has won the go-ahead to bring a high court challenge against the government over gender-neutral passports. A campaigner has won permission to challenge the Home Office’s refusal to issue gender-neutral, or X, passports.
Christie Elan-Cane, who has given evidence to parliament about transgender equality, believes the UK’s passport application process, which requires individuals to indicate whether they are male or female, is inappropriate. Christie Elan-Cane welcomed the decision by Mr Justice Gilbert in the high court in London that there will be a full legal review hearing of the government’s policy.
Elan-Cane, who first contacted the UK passport office directly in 1995, sees the issue of “X” (for unspecified) passports as a key focal point of the non-gendered campaign. “I’m elated,” Elan-Cane, who has pursued the issue for more than 25 years, said after the preliminary hearing. “It’s just on stage but it’s going the right way.”
At a hearing in London on Wednesday, Mr Justice Gilbart granted the campaigner, who was present in court, permission to bring a judicial review. UK passports currently restrict sex designations to male or female. Around 10 countries permit their citizens to opt for a third category, X, or unknown. X passports are approved by the ICAO, the UN agency which regulates international air travel.
He announced: “I am satisfied this case passes the test for the grant of permission, and is arguable.” No date has yet been set for the full high court hearing.
A full hearing of the challenge will now be held on a date to be fixed. Narind Singh, a partner at the law firm Clifford Chance which represented Elan-Cane on a pro bono basis, said: “We are delighted that the court has granted permission for a full hearing of this significant public interest case on the fundamentally important issue of the right to respect for individuals’ identity.
Last month, Canada became the latest country to offer citizens gender-neutral travel documents. “Gender identity is a fundamental part of an individual’s intimate, personal identity and X passports are a crucial step in the protection of the human rights of this group of individuals, who otherwise face an unacceptable choice between forgoing a passport, and making a false declaration, and using a passport which misrepresents their identity.”
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