A campaigner has lost a 25 year battle against the Government over not allowing gender-neutral passports.
Christie Elan-Cane brought a case to the UK's highest court in the latest round of a legal battle for "X" passports, having spent over two decades campaigning to achieve legal and social recognition for non-gendered identity.
Elan-Cane, whose pronouns are per/per/perself, challenged the policy administered by Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO), arguing that the refused to a passport with an ‘X’ gender marker went against the right to respect for private life, which is guaranteed by article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights.
However the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal in a judgment on Wednesday.
Giving the ruling, Lord Reed said: "The form is concerned with the applicants' gender as a biographical detail which can be used to confirm their identity by checking it against the birth, adoption or gender recognition certificates provided and other official records.
"It is therefore the gender recognised for legal purposes and recorded in those documents which is relevant."
The President of the Supreme Court found that Elan-Cane's interest in being issued with an "X" passport was "outweighed" by other considerations, including "maintaining a coherent approach across government" as to what genders are recognised.
Lord Reed continued: "There is no legislation in the United Kingdom which recognises a non-gendered category of individuals.
"On the contrary, legislation across the statute book assumes that all individuals can be categorised as belonging to one of two sexes or genders, terms which have been used interchangeably."
Ahead of the ruling, Elan-Cane said in a statement: “Legitimate identity is a fundamental human right but non-gendered people are treated as though we have no rights. The battle for ‘X’ passports has been long, hard and totally unnecessary.
“I hope that justice is finally served on 15 December however my legal team and I remain committed to taking this case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if we cannot get justice in the UK.”
Currently, a number of countries provide an ‘X’ gender option in their passports, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, India, Malta, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nepal, Pakistan and Uruguay.
Today's ruling marks the next stage of a length legal battle.
Elan-Cane's case was first heard the the High Court in 2018, and then an appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal in 2020.
Both courts dismissed the challenge, but ruled that the right to respect for private life was engaged under the European Convention on Human Rights.
