Since 2004, the Gender Recognition Act (2004) has allowed trans men and trans women to change the sex listed on their birth certificate.
While the GRA was an important piece of legislation at the time, it has long been criticised as being overly restrictive, difficult to access and out of step with many other systems of legal gender recognition around the world. Our FAQ answers many common questions about the GRA and reform here.
In response to these criticisms, the Scottish Government began consulting on a reform of legal gender recognition in Scotland in 2017. After two public consultations, they introduced the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill to Scottish Parliament on 3rd March 2022. You can read a summary of the changes the Bill proposed here, and see various resources and guides about the GRR that we produced here.
After passing through the Scottish Parliament and receiving minor amendments, the Bill passed a final vote on 23rd December 2022 with a strong majority of 86 votes for to 39 against, with supportive votes from members of all five parties.
On 16th January 2023, the UK Government blocked the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from gaining royal assent and becoming law by using a Section 35 order under the Scotland Act. This was the first time this has been used since the passing of the Scotland Act in 1998.
The Scottish Government did challenge these decisions in Outer House of the Court of Session, but on 8th December 2023 the Court ruled that the UK Government had acted lawfully. The was not a decision about whether reform was the “right” thing to do or not.
The Scottish Government decided not to appeal the decision. You can read the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice’s statement here, and our thoughts on the decision here.
While the Section 35 order remains in place, the Gender Recognition Reform Bill will not become law and change how legal gender recognition works in Scotland.
However, if the current or future UK Government decided to remove the order, then the Bill could take effect, as it has already passed Scottish Parliament.
We are hopeful that one day the UK Government will be receptive to discussions around this, especially as updated forms of legal gender have been implemented without issue in many countries around the world.
Below is a timeline of some of the key events and decisions from the Bill’s passage through Parliament and its consideration in court, as well as some of the page and resources we developed to help people understand the Bill, its proposals, and why we thought it was an important for trans people in Scotland.
2022
3rd March: Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill introduced to Scottish Parliament.
21st March: Stage One begins with call for views on the Bill, closing on 16th May. On 17th May, the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee (EHRCJ) begins taking oral evidence from a range of stakeholders. Oral evidence finishes on 28th June after the committee hears from 39 witnesses with a range of perspectives across 8 public sessions.
6th October: The EHRCJ releases a report summarising the evidence collected and recommending by a majority that MSPs support the bill.
27th October: MSPs debate the principle of the Bill in Scottish Parliament, and a vote passes with 88 for, 33 against, and 4 abstentions.
28th October: Stage Two of the bill begins, and MSPs submit over 150 amendments to the Bill to the EHRCJ for them to approve or deny. A final vote on these is held on November 22nd, with only minor changes made to the Bill.
23rd November: Stage Three of the bill begins where all MSPs can suggest and vote on amendments, followed by a final vote on whether the Bill will pass or fail.
20th December: After over 140 amendments were submitted, the first debates and votes of Stage Three Amendments begin. Debating and voting over amendments stretches on for three days, with Scottish Parliament meeting well into the early hours of the morning. Few amendments pass, making minor changes to the Bill, but nothing which alters its core function.
23rd December: A final vote is held on the Bill, which passes with a majority of 86 votes for to 39 against, with supportive votes from members of all five parties.
2023
16th January: The Secretary of State for Scotland announces that the UK Government will use a Section 35 order under the Scotland Act to block the Bill from gaining royal assent, as they believe it will negatively impact their ability to carry out reserved equalities duties.
12th April: The Scottish Government announces that they will lodge a petition for legislative review of the Section 35 order, meaning they will take the UK Government to court over the legality of the order’s use. They are granted permission to do so on 30th June.
19th – 20th September: The Scottish Government’s case and the UK Government’s response are heard in the Outer Court of Session. The hearing focused on the legality of the use of the Section 35 order, and not whether passing the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was the “right” thing to do.
8th December: The Outer House ruled in favour of the UK Government, meaning that the Scottish Government’s appeal of the use of a Section 35 order failed.
20th December: The Scottish Government announce that they will not be appealing the court decision. The law will not gain royal assent, but will remain on the Scottish Parliament’s “books”. You can read our thoughts on this here.
A quick explainer on the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, what it does, and how it works.
Find out which parts of the Gender Recognition Act would and would not have changed under Gender Recognition Reform.
While it was world-leading when it was introduced in 2004, the Gender Recognition Act has since become outdated and out of step with international best practice.
Explainer on the UK Government’s use of a Section 35 order to block the Bill, what happened next, and where we are now.
The Scottish Government have announced they will not be appealing the recent court decision that the UK Government acted lawfully when they blocked the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from becoming law.
What are legal gender recognition laws like in the rest of the world and how do ours compare?
Your frequently asked questions on the Gender Recognition Act answered.
Resources and guides we have produced regarding reform to the Gender Recognition Act.
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Scottish Trans is part of the Equality Network
Scottish Trans is the Equality Network project to improve gender identity and gender reassignment equality, rights and inclusion in Scotland. The Equality Network is a leading Scottish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) equality and human rights charity.
The Equality Network is a registered Scottish charity: SC037852, and a company limited by guarantee: SC220213.
We are grateful for funding from the Scottish Government
