I v The United Kingdom (Application No. 25680/94)

In brief

A companion case to Goodwin v UK decided by the same Grand Chamber on the same day (11 July 2002). The European Court of Human Rights held that the United Kingdom’s failure to legally recognise the acquired gender of post-operative transgender persons, and to permit them to marry in that gender, violated Articles 8 and 12 of the Convention. Cited together with Goodwin as the foundational ECHR authority on legal gender recognition.

Key provisions

• Article 8 ECHR — right to legal recognition of acquired gender: The Court found the UK’s refusal to legally recognise the applicant’s acquired gender violated Article 8 (right to respect for private life).
• Article 12 ECHR — right to marry in acquired gender: Refusal to permit marriage in the acquired gender violated Article 12.

When relevant

Quote alongside Goodwin v UK when establishing the human-rights foundation of legal gender recognition in the UK. Useful when a respondent attempts to confine Goodwin to a single applicant.