For Women Scotland vs Scottish Government
For Women Scotland vs the Lord Advocate (Government of Scotland)
OPEN JUSTICE WITH TRIBUNAL TWEETS – 9 November 2022 – Open Justice
For Women Scotland brought a second judicial review of the Scottish government’s statutory guidance on the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 due to the addition of a “reference to the Gender Recognition Act”.
The Court of Session ruled in the first judicial review that the definition of ‘woman’ in the Equality Act 2010 is the only definition which the Scottish Parliament could have legislated for in passing the 2018 Act, and stated “provisions in favour of women, in this context, by definition exclude those who are biologically male” and that “by incorporating those transsexuals living as women into the definition of woman, the 2018 Act conflates and confuses two separate and distinct protected characteristics”….
Judicial Review Decision
FOR WOMEN SCOTLAND – 13 December 2022 – FWS
We are, of course, hugely disappointed in today’s ruling, which is available in full on the court’s website here.
At first reading this seems disastrous for women who are seemingly now no longer recognised in law as a sex-class, with distinct requirements of our own. We are obviously still analysing the decision and will consider if any further legal action is appropriate in due course.
There are clear ramifications for the Gender Recognition Reform Bill currently before Parliament and we hope some time will be allowed for MSPs to digest the ruling and its consequences. It is now beyond doubt that the Bill is not a “simple administration change” but does have a wider impact on society….
The Mess We’re In:
Dennis Kavanagh brings pretty good news!
Labour should call for a pause before voting on the gender recognition bill in Scotland
SEX MATTERS – 16 December 2022
Sex Matters has sent an urgent open letter to Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, and Jackie Baillie MSP, calling on Labour MSPs to demand more time to consider the implications of the Haldane opinion before voting on the Gender Recognition Reform bill (Scotland).
The Labour Party, in its 2019 manifesto, pledged to “ensure that the single-sex-based exemptions contained in the Equality Act 2010 are understood and fully enforced in service provision”. Labour MSPs say they are doing their best to try to make sure that the SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform bill does not harm women’s services.
But they have an impossible task. They are being asked to legislate in a state of uncertainty about what the words in the bill might mean. Earlier this week Lady Haldane ruled in the Court of Session that biological sex is not recognised in the Equality Act. This judgment (which may be appealed) changes the entire legal context of the bill.
There have been 139 amendments tabled, and MSPs only have two days to debate them. Twenty of the amendments concern the interaction of the bill with the Equality Act. But according to Lady Haldane’s definitions the terms in the Equality Act do not include any that relate to biological sex as a clear category…
