First Trans Judge Appeals to ECHR Over Supreme Court Ruling
By Telegraph Reporters
Victoria McCloud challenges judgment on sex-based rights in a case dismissed as ‘fantasy’ by campaigners
Britain’s first transgender judge has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the Supreme Court ruling on gender.
In April, Supreme Court judges ruled the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act referred to biological sex and not to acquired gender in a legal action brought against the Scottish Government by For Women Scotland, a campaign group.
Lawyers for Victoria McCloud told The Telegraph that she was seeking a re-hearing of the case, arguing the Supreme Court undermined her Article 6 rights to a fair trial after refusing to hear representation from her and evidence from any other transgender individuals or groups.
But women’s rights campaigners dismissed the case as “fantasy” and say Ms McCloud should exhaust “all domestic legal remedies” before going to Strasbourg.
In a statement on Monday morning, Ms McCloud said: “There is no space for decision-making about us, without us.
“I intend to ensure that there will be no peace for the gender-critical ideological movement, the Labour Government appeasing it, or space in our schools, homes and workplaces for an ideology which causes harm, misery and oppression of a small and law-abiding minority in our formerly tolerant country.”
Helen Joyce, left, and Maya Forstater of the charity Sex Matters celebrate the Supreme Court’s ruling on sex-based rights
Ms McCloud is being represented by Oscar Davies, the UK’s first openly non-binary barrister, and Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, the founder and executive director of the Trans Legal Clinic and the first black trans lawyer in the UK.
The Trans Legal Clinic has launched a legal fundraiser for £150,000 to raise funds to support the case, and it is the first one in British history to be brought by a trans-led legal team.
But the challenge has provoked a backlash from women’s rights groups.
Maya Forstater, the chief executive of the women’s human rights charity Sex Matters, told The Telegraph: “What we are being told about this proposed case is incomprehensible.
“The European Court of Human Rights only hears cases that have exhausted all domestic legal remedies, and since McCloud wasn’t a party to For Women Scotland in the Supreme Court, that’s not the case here.
“It’s a fantasy that someone can go straight to Strasbourg to complain that the Supreme Court in their own country didn’t listen to them.”
Ms Forstater said Ms McCloud’s team should go to the UK High Court to “seek a declaration of incompatibility with domestic human rights law”.
Susan Smith, from For Women Scotland, said: “As far as we understand, it is the SC’s prerogative whether to accept interventions or not. It obviously carefully considered McCloud’s application and made a decision based on the value of its content.
“The court is solely concerned with statutory interpretation and does not hear personal testimony or take evidence, and rarely takes interventions from individuals.
“We will watch with interest whether McCloud’s application is accepted by the ECHR or even if it comes within the deadline to proceed.”
‘Public figure and a target’
Ms McCloud quit the profession last year after claiming she could no longer do the job without politicising the judiciary.
She transitioned in the 1990s, becoming the first transgender barrister and judge in the UK. She was the youngest person to become a King’s Bench Master of the High Court at the age of 40 in 2010.
In her resignation letter last year, she said the leaking of her formerly private transgender identity eight years ago “came at a cost because I became a public figure and a target”.
At the time of the case, the Supreme Court heard interventions from a number of gender-critical groups including Sex Matters, the LGB Alliance and The Lesbian Project.
Earlier this month, The Times reported that Labour MPs were also pushing back against the Supreme Court ruling.
Andrew Western, a work and pensions minister, told one of his constituents that he felt the case was “completely unnecessary” and he appreciated “the fear and distress that has resulted” from it.
Josh Newbury, the MP for Cannock Chase, said that it was “clear” to him “that trans women are women and that trans men are men”.
Asked about the case, Stephen Kinnock, minister for care, told ITV News on Monday that the Labour government was “absolutely dedicated to the rule of law”.
He noted the Supreme Court must abide by international legal frameworks such as the ECHR, and added: “If there are individuals who believe that something needs to be challenged, then they can bring an appeal; it is their right to do so.”
Original source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/18/first-trans-judge-appeals-to-echr-over-supreme-court-ruling/
