The UK’s first transgender judge, Dr Victoria McCloud, has launched a landmark challenge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), claiming the UK Supreme Court excluded trans voices in a ruling that redefined legal sex.
McCloud, who retired from the High Court last year, argues that the court’s April decision stripped rights from around 8,500 people in the UK who hold a gender recognition certificate.
The ruling had determined that the Equality Act’s protections for “women” do not extend to trans women, even those with legal recognition.
Trans voices excluded
McCloud attempted to intervene in the original case, brought by the gender-critical group For Women Scotland against the Scottish Government. Her application was refused without explanation.
While the Supreme Court permitted interventions from organisations including Sex Matters, LGB Alliance, and The Lesbian Project, no trans-led groups or individuals were allowed to contribute — a central issue in McCloud’s ECHR claim.
Supported by W-Legal and the Trans Legal Clinic, McCloud alleges violations of Articles 6, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights: the right to a fair trial, the right to respect for private and family life, and the prohibition of discrimination.
“The court reversed my and 8,500 other people’s sex for the whole of equality law,” McCloud said.
“We are told we must use dangerous spaces such as male changing rooms and loos when we have female anatomy. If we are raped we must go to male rape crisis. We are searched by male police.”
A historic legal team
The case is also historic for its representation. McCloud is working with Oscar Davies, the UK’s first openly non-binary barrister, and Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, founder of the Trans Legal Clinic and the country’s first Black trans lawyer.
Fallout from the ruling
The Supreme Court’s decision has already sparked ripple effects across the UK, influencing policies in sports, corporate workplaces, and schools.
For Women Scotland is reportedly preparing to sue the Scottish Government again over guidance that still allows some trans women to access facilities aligned with their lived gender, including in schools and prisons.
Meanwhile, service providers nationwide are awaiting the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated Code of Practice, due later this year, which will clarify how to implement the court’s ruling under the Equality Act.
McCloud’s case raises a new question: did Britain’s highest court violate fundamental rights by excluding those most directly affected while allowing only trans-exclusionary groups to participate?
The Trans Legal Clinic has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the case, calling it a fight not only for McCloud’s rights but for “the collective interest of trans people across the UK whose voices have been silenced.”
