Transgender judge takes UK to Supreme Court over biological sex ruling

Lawyers acting on Dr McCloud's behalf filed their appeal in the European Court of Human Rights.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that trans women are not legally women under the Equalities Act.

This has led to warnings that it would 'exclude trans people wholesale from participating in UK society'; however, gender-critical campaigners hailed the ruling as a victory for women.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the judge, Dr Victoria McCloud, 55, filed their appeal in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Dr McCloud stood down last year and filed an appeal in the ECHR which argued a breach of her rights.

This came under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to a fair and impartial hearing by an independent tribunal.

Dr McCloud claimed that the Supreme Court refused to let her intervene on how the issues would affect her and other trans people.

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 are representing her case.

This is the first-ever case to be brought by a trans-led legal team.

A spokesperson for the Trans Legal Clinic: “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," they said.

They added: “The Trans Legal Clinic has established a community crowdfunding campaign at www.translegalclinic.com/mccloud to help meet the costs of the case. The initiative is intended to enable members of the public to contribute directly to the proceedings, reflecting the collective interest and engagement in the issues at stake."

CEO of Sex Matters, Maya Forstater described the case as being 'incomprehensible' and said it 'looks more like a deceptive and expensive PR campaign than a serious legal strategy.'

“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,” she added.

Forstater continued: “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.

“Conceivably, McCloud’s team may be planning to go to the UK High Court to seek a declaration of incompatibility with domestic human rights law, in the expectation that that will provide a route to Strasbourg.

"But it’s a large assumption, to say the least, that the High Court would disagree with the Supreme Court’s assessment of the proposed intervention by McCloud.”

Dr McCloud came out as trans when she was in her 20s and is one of around 8,000 people to have changed their gender on their birth certificate.

Speaking to The Independent earlier this year, Dr McCloud said the ruling leaves Britain 'not much better than countries that criminalise trans people'.

“It literally changed my legal sex for discrimination purposes, overnight,” she said.

“I think it becomes embarrassing to law, to have a situation where essentially the people who are the most affected in human rights terms don’t actually have any voice at any stage.”