The Scottish government has confirmed it will launch a legal battle with the UK Government after it blocked the Scottish Parliament’s move to make it easier to change gender.
Humza Yousaf, who recently took over as Scotland’s first minister, had saidduring the SNP leadership campaign he would challenge the “undemocratic veto” by Westminster.
In December, the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by 86 votes to 39.
It allows trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate without the need for a medical diagnosis.
It also drops the minimum age for applicants to 16, and lowers the time required for an applicant to live as their gender from three years to two months. For 16 and 17-year-olds, this will be six months.
But the Bill was blocked by UK Scotland Secretary Alister Jack in January, who used Section 35 of the Scotland Act to stop it becoming law.
The UK government said it was “concerned that this legislation would have an adverse impact on the operation of Great Britain-wide equalities legislation”.
Scotland’s social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the use of Section 35 was “an unprecedented challenge to the Scottish Parliament’s ability to legislate on clearly devolved matters and it risks setting a dangerous constitutional precedent”.
“In seeking to uphold the democratic will of the Parliament and defend devolution, Scottish ministers will lodge a petition for a judicial review of the Secretary of State for Scotland’s decision,” she said.
Responding to the legal challenge, Jack said government intends to “robustly defend” the GRR legal challenge.
“The UK Government will robustly defend the decision to prevent the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill from becoming law,” he said.
“I made the order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 after thorough and careful consideration of all the relevant advice and the policy implications.
“I was very clear in the accompanying statement of reasons how the Bill would have an adverse effect on reserved matters, including on the operation of the law as it applies to Great Britain-wide equalities protections.
“The use of the power is entirely within the devolution settlement as set out from its inception, with cross party support.”