Legal links

Pointers to legal resources on the internet for trans rights campaigners

Laws

Laws in force in the UK
The above link to the HMSO website has a complete collection on-line of legislation passed by Parliament since 1996.
Bills before Parliament
The full text of Bills currently before the UK Parliament can be accessed via the above link to the UK Parliament Web site. Note that these bills are not in force and may be subject to further revision before becoming law … or may not, in fact be passed at all.

European Court of Justice (ECJ)
Effectively the supreme court of The European Union, the European Court of Justice is the ultimate arbiter on matters of European law. It was the ECJ’s 1996 ruling in the P-v-S case which established protection against discrimination in employment for trans people throughout the EU.
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
The international court which hears claims by citizens of member states of the Council of Europe who allege breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. It has heard many cases brought by trans people; sadly none of the cases brought by UK citizens has been successful.

Ministry of Justice
The government department responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales, and the oversight of law reform.
The Court Service
The Court Service is an executive agency of the Lord Chancellor’s Department, providing administrative support to a number of courts and tribunals in England and Wales, including the High Court, the Crown Court and the county courts. Their website also includes other sites related to the administration of justice, including:
- The Scottish Court Service, which is responsible for the administration of the Supreme and Sherriff Courts in Scotland.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal
The EAT handles appeals from the decisions of the Employment Tribunals: its website includes the full text of EAT judgments and a schedule of forthcoming cases.

Is He our Sister?
An article subtitled “Sex, Gender, and Transsexuals Under European Law” by Andrea C Loux, BA, JD, Lecturer-in-Public Law at Edinburgh University, which examines equality for trans people in the light of the landmark P v S judgment in the European Court of Justice and the case of M v Chief Constable (West Midlands Police).

The Lawyer
Legal news with daily updates, and a searchable archive
The Law Society Gazette — The solicitors’ weekly
Current legal news, and searchable archives
The Incorporated Council Of Law Reporting For England and Wales
Not for profit publishers of law reports since 1865; all reports also available on-line, by subscription only, from justis.com (subscriptions are not cheap!).

National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB)
The Citizens Advice Bureau Service offers free, independent and confidential advice. The CAB helps solve problems which are central to people’s lives, including debt and consumer issues, benefits, housing, legal matters, employment, and immigration. Advisers can help fill out forms, write letters, negotiate with creditors and represent clients at court or tribunal. As well as giving advice, the CAB Service uses its bank of client evidence to find out where local and national services and policies should change.
The NACAB website includes a search page to help find your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
Adviceguide is an advice and information service run by NACAB.

The Bar Council
The Bar Council represents and regulates barristers, and its website includes detailed information about the role of barristers as well as the Bar Directory.
The Law Society of England and Wales
The professional body for solicitors in England and Wales. Includes information on finding a solictor, and the standards you can expect.
Tyndallwoods Solicitors
Birmingham-based lawyers experienced in representing trans people
2 Garden Court
Barristers specialising in human rights, who have represented trans people in several landmark cases.
Harassment Law
A solicitor and a barrister have prepared this site, which offers advice and information on harassment law in the UK. The site aims “to provide practical information and relevant web links for anyone who is the victim of harassment or who is has been wrongly accused of harassment”.

Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. Best known for its support of prisoners of conscience, Amnesty also works in support of people deprived of rights because of their gender identity.
Liberty
Formerly the National Council for Civil Liberties, Liberty actively supports the rights of trans people: their 1999 submission to the government’s inter-departmental working group on the status of transexual people and their 1997 Amicus brief in the Sheffield & Horsham case in the ECHR are both on the PFC website.
Rights International
Rights International isa US-based non-profitorganisation which fights for those rights recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights treaties. It’s two goals are: to protect the human rights of its clients, and to advance the development of international human rights caselaw. (See, for example, Rights International’s amicus brief in the XYZ case).
The International Lesbian & Gay Association (ILGA)
Accredited with observer status at both the UN and the Council of Europe, ILGA is a powerful force in drawing the attention of international law to the status of GLBT people.