CHRISTIE ELAN-CANE
NON-GENDERED
Fighting for legal and social recognition outside the gendered societal structure
‘X’ PASSPORTS IN THE UK
THE LEGAL CHALLENGE: JUDICIAL REVIEW PERMISSION APPLICATION HEARING DATE ANNOUNCED
I am pleased to inform that a hearing will take place on 11 October 2017 at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London.
The purpose of this hearing is that the court will decide upon whether permission should be granted for me to apply to the courts for judicial review of HM Passport Office’s discriminatory passport policy that is underpinned by the UK Government’s ongoing refusal to permit the issuance of non gender-specific ‘X’ Passports to UK citizens whose identities are neither male nor female.
It has taken a very long time to reach this stage. Those who have followed commentary on this site over many years are aware there is much history to the case. My decision to pursue change through legal avenues was due to the political process having been tried and exhausted as the UK Government evidently had no intention to seriously consider the issue.
I approached the renowned law firm Clifford Chance LLP in 2013 and was accepted by them as a pro bono client. An enormous amount of preparatory work has taken place over the course of the duration in order for me to proceed with this case.
I must stress there is no guarantee the case will be successful and neither is there a guarantee that permission to take the case forward will be given after the hearing on 11 October. All judicial review applications must first obtain the permission of the court in order to proceed.
I am not about to give false hope that current policy will be over turned. A judicial review decision does not automatically enact a change of government policy. The UK Government, under current administration, remains firmly opposed to the issuance [and the principle] of ‘X’ Passports.
A successful judicial review outcome would however highlight the inherent discriminatory nature of current policy that would become increasingly untenable and that successive governments would find hard to justify.
That is all for now. Keep the faith and check back to this site for updates.
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Legitimate Identity is a Fundamental Human Right
The denial of existence is the worst act of discrimination by the gendered majority against the non-gendered