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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Ross Hunter

Court ruling on whether UK can block gender reform in Scotland due on Friday

A COURT ruling on whether the UK Government can veto gender reforms passed by a majority of MSPs in Holyrood is due on Friday December 8. 

Following two days of hearing in September, Lady Haldane is due to give her judgment on the case.

It is expected her written judgment will be made available around midday.

The Gender Recognition Reform Bill was passed by two-thirds of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament in December 2022.

However, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack made the unprecedented decision to use a Section 35 order, which blocked the legislation from becoming law in Scotland.

The much debated legislation seeks to simplify the process of legally changing gender. 

The bill removed the requirement to have a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria before being able to attain a Gender Recognition Certificate. 

It also reduced the age a person can apply from 18-years-old to 16 and cut the amount of time they had live in their acquired gender before being permitted to legally change gender from two-years to three to six months. 

However, critics said the legislation posed a threat to women's safety by collapsing the distinction between sex and gender and claimed it would imperil the provision of single-sex spaces. 

The bill was passed by a cross-party majority of MSPs before being blocked by the UK Government. 

It was described as a "full-frontal" attack on the Scottish Parliament by then first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who vowed to fight the veto in the courts. 

In September, the Scottish Government's top lawyer, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, argued in the Court of Session that Jack's actions were based on a "policy disagreement" and therefore unlawful. 

However, a UK Government law officer argued that such a claim was "irrelevant" and that Jack had "justified grounds" for using the Section 35 order. 

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