AB v Gender Recognition Panel
| Court | Family Division |
| Judge | Sir,Rew,Mrs Justice Lieven |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 1456 (Fam) |
| Date | 18 June 2024 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Counsel | Lisa Giovannetti Kc,Allan Briddock,Catherine Jaquiss |
FAMILY DIVISION
DIVISIONAL COURT
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 18 June 2024
Before :
SIR ANDREW MCFARLANE
PRESIDENT OF THE FAMILY DIVISION
MRS JUSTICE LIEVEN
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Between:
AB Applicant
- and -
Gender Recognition Panel Respondent
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Lisa Giovannetti KC, Allan Briddock and Catherine Jaquiss (instructed by DAC
Beachcroft LLP) for the Appellant
The Respondent did not attend and was not represented
Sarah Hannett KC (appointed by HM Attorney General) Advocate to the Court
Hearing date: 8 February 2024
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Approved Judgment
.............................
This judgment was delivered in private. The judge has given leave for this version of the
judgment to be published on condition that (irrespective of what is contained in the judgment)
in any published version of the judgment the anonymity of the children and members of their
family must be strictly preserved. All persons, including representatives of the media and
legal bloggers, must ensure that this condition is strictly complied with. Failure to do so may
be a contempt of court.
Sir Andrew McFarlane P:
1. This is the judgment of the court (to which both members have contributed)
determining an appeal against a decision, made by the Gender Recognition Panel
[‘GRP’] on 11 October 2022, refusing the appellant’s application for a gender
recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (“GRA 2004”). The
appellant, a transgender woman, sought to challenge the GRP’s decision on the basis
that the Panel erred in law in its conclusion that the appellant did not meet the
statutory requirements for a gender recognition certificate on the evidence before it.
2. The appellant filed a notice of appeal on 25 November 2022. Following issues of
service, the Secretary of State for Justice and the GRP were re-served with the notice
of appeal on 28 December 2023 and 2 January 2024 respectively. Both indicated that
they would not be participating in the appeal process.
3. The circumstances in which a person may appeal a decision of the GRP is prescribed
by GRA 2004, s 8:
‘8. – Appeals etc.
(1) An applicant to a Gender Recognition Panel under section 1(1), 4A, 4C,
5(2), 5A(2) or 6(1)2 may appeal to the High Court, family court or Court of
Session on a point of law against a decision by the Panel to reject the
application.
(2) An appeal under subsection (1) must be heard in private if the applicant
so requests.
(3) On such an appeal the court must–
(a) allow the appeal and issue the certificate applied for,
(b) allow the appeal and refer the matter to the same or another Panel
for reconsideration,
or
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