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# UK’s highest court to hear case on gender neutral passports
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/uks-highest-court-to-hear-case-on-gender-neutral-passports/
- Published: 2020-11-15T11:11:08.000Z
- Updated: 2020-11-15T09:31:19.000Z
- Description: The UK’s highest court is due to hear an appeal in March 2021 from non-gendered activist Christie Elan-Cane, who uses per/perself pronouns, on the possibility of allowing for gender-neutral UK passports.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Politics, Christie Elan-Cane, Gender Neutral passports, LGBTQ, Non-binary, UK News

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/christie-elan-cane-1.jpg)

Christie Elan-Cane

The UK’s highest court is due to hear an appeal in **March 2021** from non-gendered activist **Christie Elan-Cane**, who uses per/perself pronouns, on the possibility of allowing for gender-neutral UK passports. The UK’s current passport policy requires holders to have either an M or an F on the document, but Elan-Cane has been campaigning for over 25 years to create a third, gender-neutral option for citizens. Per previous attempts to add a third option to passports were unsuccessful after the Home Office’s Court of Appeal said the current regulations are not unlawful, but recognised the rights of those who are gender diverse.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/passports-1.jpg)

However, the court later found the right to respect for private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights does include a right to respect for a person’s non-gendered identity, allowing the case to be re-addressed. On Thursday November 12, Elan-Cane’s law firm, **Clifford Chance**, announced it had secured permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court to challenge governmental refusal to issue gender neutral passports. **Jemima Roe**, associate at Clifford Chance, said: *“This case raises important questions regarding the right to respect for individuals’ identity, specifically for those who identify as neither or not exclusively male or female.”*

They continued: *“Access to “X” passports is crucial for the protection of the human rights of this demographic, who are otherwise forced to use a passport which misrepresents their identity. Clifford Chance is proud to be working with Christie Elan-Cane and Blackstone Chambers to argue this case before the Supreme Court.”* Numerous other countries have a gender neutral X option on passports; Argentina, Canada, Iceland, India, Malta, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Uruguay, most of Australia and some US states all allow for X gender markers.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/christie-elan-cane-1-1.jpg)