Latest news with #VictoriaMcCloud
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
UK's first trans judge to challenge Supreme Court's landmark gender ruling using European human rights laws
Britain's first transgender judge has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman. Victoria McCloud is seeking a rehearing of the case as she claims the UK's highest court undermined her Article 6 rights to a fair trial when it declined to hear evidence from her. In April the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that 'woman' and 'man' refer to biological women and men in the context of the Equality act and that 'the concept of sex is binary'. Ms McCloud - who left her role as a judge last year - is seeking a review as she claims the Supreme Court refused permission for her to provide evidence on how its clarification of the law would affect trans people. But women's rights campaigners have dismissed the case as a 'fantasy' and say Ms McCloud should exhaust 'all domestic legal remedies' before appealing to the court in Strasbourg. The former judge will be represented by Oscar Davies, the UK's first openly non-binary barrister, and Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, the founder of the Trans Legal Clinic and the UK's first black trans lawyer. 'There is no space for decision-making about us, without us,' Ms McCloud said in a statement yesterday. 'I intend to ensure that there will be no peace for the gender-critical ideological movement, the Labour Government appeasing it, or space in our schools, homes and workplaces for an ideology which causes harm, misery and oppression of a small and law-abiding minority in our formerly tolerant country.' A spokesman for the Trans Legal Clinic said: 'For the trans community, it embodies a simple truth: there must be no more conversations about us, without us. 'At its heart lies the principle in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights; the right to a fair and impartial hearing by an independent tribunal. 'This cornerstone of democratic societies exists to guarantee that those whose rights are affected can take part in proceedings that determine their future.' However Maya Forstater, chief executive of human rights charity Sex Matters, said Ms McCloud's appeal is legally 'incomprehensible' and a 'fantasy'. She said: 'What we are being told about this proposed case is incomprehensible. The ECHR only hears cases that have exhausted all domestic legal remedies, and since McCloud wasn't a party to For Women Scotland in the Supreme Court, that's not the case here. 'It's a fantasy that someone can go straight to Strasbourg to complain that the Supreme Court in their own country didn't listen to them.' Ms Forstater added: 'This looks more like a deceptive and expensive PR campaign than a serious legal strategy.' The Supreme Court can consider outside arguments from 'interveners' at its discretion but rarely allows individuals to intervene and often rejects them if it will hear the same arguments from others. In the biological sex case, the UK's highest court did consider arguments on trans issues from the human rights campaign group Amnesty International. Susan Smith - from For Women Scotland, which brought the Supreme Court case - said that it is the Supreme Court's 'prerogative whether to accept interventions or not' and that it 'rarely takes interventions from individuals' 'We will watch with interest whether McCloud's application is accepted by the ECHR or even if it comes within the deadline to proceed,' she added. Ms McCloud transitioned in the 1990s and became the first transgender barrister and judge in the UK. She stood down last year, saying she could not continue her work amid the increasingly fraught public debate. In her resignation letter, Ms McCloud likened herself to civil rights activist Rosa Parks. It comes as Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was criticised for wearing a trans rights T-shirt with the slogan 'protect the dolls' while attending a Pride march in her Wigan constituency. Critics have said a government minister should not be promoting the slogan and described it as a 'middle finger from the Labour Government'. The term 'doll' is a slang term from the 1980s for biological men who 'pass' as women but has seen a revival after celebrities including Pedro Pascal, Madonna and Tilda Swinton were photographed in a £75 T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan. James Esses, a gender critical campaigner and therapist, said it was a 'middle finger from the Labour Government to everyone who believes in biological reality'. Fiona McAnena, from Sex Matters, said: 'No elected representative of the public - let alone a government minister - should be promoting the slogan of campaigners who are calling for men to be able to identify into any space for women'. The Culture Secretary was contacted for comment.
Scotsman
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Trans judge launches legal action for rehearing of Supreme Court gender ruling
The Supreme Court ruling on biological sex is facing a human rights challenge. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The UK's first transgender judge has launched a human rights challenge against the controversial Supreme Court ruling of the definition of a woman in equalities law. Retired judge Victoria McCloud has lodged a case against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights calling for a rehearing, arguing the process that led to the ruling on biological sex undermined her human rights. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Members of For Women Scotland celebrate the Supreme Court ruling that the word 'woman' the 2010 Equality Act refers to a biological woman (Picture: Lucy North) | PA In April, the Supreme Court ruled the definition of a woman in the UK Equalities Act refers to biological sex. Despite the judges stressing the ruling was not 'a triumph of one or more groups … at the expense of another', campaigners have claimed victory and have put pressure on public bodies to implement their interpretation of the ruling. Ms McCloud, who is now a litigation strategist at W-Legal, has lodged a case for a rehearing of the case. According to the Guardian, Ms McCloud is arguing the Supreme Court undermined her article six rights to a fair trial when it refused to hear her representation and evidence from any other trans people or groups. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Last year, Ms McCloud's application to join the Supreme Court litigation on the basis the case could significantly impact legal protection for transgender women was rejected. The court agreed to take interventions from a number of trans-exclusionary groups, including Sex Matter and For Women Scotland, who brought the Supreme Court case against the Scottish Government, as well as campaign organisations including the controversial LGB Alliance. Ms McCloud, who is supported by Trans Legal Clinic and W-Legal, said the application was brought under articles six, eight and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She warned this was 'essentially the rights to respect for who I am, my family, my human existence, my right to a fair trial in matters determining my own freedoms and obligations without discrimination'. 'No representation or evidence had been included from us in the 8,500 group [the estimated UK population of people with gender recognition certificates who are diagnosed as transsexual],' she said. 'I was refused. The court gave no reasoning. 'The court reversed my and 8,500 other people's sex for the whole of equality law … we are now two sexes at once. We are told we must use dangerous spaces such as male changing rooms and loos when we have female anatomy.
Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
First trans judge appeals to ECHR over Supreme Court ruling
Britain's first transgender judge has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the Supreme Court ruling on gender. In April, Supreme Court judges ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act referred to biological sex and not to acquired gender in a legal action brought against the Scottish Government by For Women Scotland, a campaign group. Lawyers for Victoria McCloud told The Telegraph that she was seeking a re-hearing of the case, arguing the Supreme Court undermined her Article 6 rights to a fair trial after refusing to hear representation from her and evidence from any other transgender individuals or groups. But women's rights campaigners dismissed the case as 'fantasy' and say McCloud should exhaust 'all domestic legal remedies' before going to Strasbourg. In a statement on Monday morning, Ms McCloud said: 'There is no space for decision-making about us, without us. 'I intend to ensure that there will be no peace for the gender-critical ideological movement, the Labour Government appeasing it, or space in our schools, homes and workplaces for an ideology which causes harm, misery and oppression of a small and law-abiding minority in our formerly tolerant country.' Ms McCloud is being represented by Oscar Davies, the UK's first openly non-binary barrister, and Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, the founder and executive director of the Trans Legal Clinic and the first black trans lawyer in the UK. The Trans Legal Clinic has launched a legal fundraiser for £150,000 to raise funds to support the case, and it is the first one in British history to be brought by a trans-led legal team. But the challenge has provoked a backlash from women's rights groups. Maya Forstater, the chief executive of the women's human rights charity Sex Matters, told The Telegraph: 'What we are being told about this proposed case is incomprehensible. 'The European Court of Human Rights only hears cases that have exhausted all domestic legal remedies, and since McCloud wasn't a party to For Women Scotland in the Supreme Court, that's not the case here. 'It's a fantasy that someone can go straight to Strasbourg to complain that the Supreme Court in their own country didn't listen to them.' Ms Forstater said Ms McCloud's team should go to the UK High Court to 'seek a declaration of incompatibility with domestic human rights law'. Susan Smith, from For Women Scotland, said: 'As far as we understand it is the SC's prerogative whether to accept interventions or not. It obviously carefully considered McCloud's application and made a decision based on the value of its content. 'The court is solely concerned with statutory interpretation and does not hear personal testimony or take evidence, and rarely takes interventions from individuals. 'We will watch with interest whether McCloud's application is accepted by the ECHR or even if it comes within the deadline to proceed.' 'Public figure and a target' Ms McCloud quit the profession last year after claiming she could no longer do the job without politicising the judiciary. She transitioned in the 1990s, becoming the first transgender barrister and judge in the UK. She was the youngest person to become a King's Bench Master of the High Court at the age of 40 in 2010. In her resignation letter last year, she said the leaking of her formerly private transgender identity eight years ago 'came at a cost because I became a public figure and a target'. At the time of the case, the Supreme Court heard interventions from a number of gender-critical groups including Sex Matters, the LGB Alliance and The Lesbian Project. Earlier this month, The Times reported that Labour MPs were also pushing back against the Supreme Court ruling. Andrew Western, a work and pensions minister, told one of his constituents that he felt the case was 'completely unnecessary' and he appreciated 'the fear and distress that has resulted' from it. Josh Newbury, the MP for Cannock Chase, said that it was 'clear' to him 'that trans women are women and that trans men are men'.
The Herald Scotland
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Trans judge lodges appeal of For Women Scotland ruling
Lawyers acting on behalf of retired judge Dr Victoria McCloud, 55, filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Dr McCloud is arguing a breach of her rights under article six of European Convention on Human Rights which is the right to a fair and impartial hearing by an independent tribunal. It is claimed that the Supreme Court refused permission for the judge to intervene in the For Women Scotland vs Scottish ministers case on how the issues would affect trans people. This is the first case to be brought by a trans-led legal team, with Oscar Davies, the UK's first openly non-binary barrister and Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, the founder of Trans Legal Clinic. The legal team said their appeal is "about the exclusion of trans voices from from discussions about their very existence and freedoms". A statement from Dr McCloud said that following the For Women Scotland case, the UK had put in place "harsh measures" such as segregation in hospital wards, strip searches by police using male male officers to search anatomically female trans people and bathroom bans". It comes as For Women Scotland lodges new action against the Scottish Government over "inconsistent" policies following the landmark ruling. More to follow...
The National
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
UK's first trans judge launches case against Supreme Court sex ruling
Dr Victoria McCloud – the only judge in the UK to publicly say they are transgender – is seeking a rehearing of the case, arguing that the Supreme Court undermined her article 6 rights to a fair trial when it failed to consider human rights arguments that would have been put by trans people – including herself. In April, the Supreme Court ruled that "women" were defined by biological sex under the Equality Act 2010. The court took interventions from a number of gender-critical groups including Sex Matters and For Women Scotland, who first brought the case and is now attempting to sue the Scottish Government – accusing it of refusing to abide by April's judgment, particularly when it comes to schools and prison policy. READ MORE: MoD claims serious radioactive leak at Faslane 'posed no risk to public' McCloud, who is supported by Trans Legal Clinic and W-Legal, said the application was brought under articles 6, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 'Following the 'For Women Scotland' case in the Supreme Court, the UK has been red flagged with a genocide warning internationally and harsh measures such as segregation within hospital wards behind special screens and curtains, strip searches by police using male officers to search anatomically female trans people, bathroom bans, and a range of other measures,' she wrote. 'Amid all this hundreds of us with our families are leaving the UK where we can afford it, for safer shores. But there can be no question of abandoning our community for any of us. The immediate future will necessarily involve a great deal of strategic legal action and other steps within the legal sphere. "We have much to do, and many many avenues to pursue here and abroad in pursuit of the restoration of normality to the UK for trans, non-binary and even lesbian women affected by the FWS decision, and everyone else being impacted by this obnoxious state of affairs.' McCloud added that the group is taking on the case 'in defence of the rights and freedoms of trans people'. 'I encourage anyone who can, to participate and support our fight. There is no space for decision making about us, without us,' she went on. 'I intend, with our wonderful team at the Trans Legal Clinic, our counsel Oscar Davies, Jenn Lawrence and Amanda Weston KC, and all the dedicated people working with us, to ensure that there will be no peace for the Gender Critical Ideological Movement, the Labour Government appeasing it, or space in our schools, homes and workplaces for an ideology which causes harm, misery and oppression of a small and law abiding minority in our formerly tolerant country. '
