1 ... the [Gender Recognition] Panel must grant the application if satisfied that the applicant -
(a) has or has had gender dysphoria,
(b) has lived in the acquired gender throughout the period of two years ending with the date on which the application is made,
(c) intends to continue to live in the acquired gender until death, and
(d) complies with the requirements [for producing medical reports and other supporting evidence] imposed by and under section 3.
| PROBLEM AREA Married people who wish to change gender The provisions in the Gender Recognition Act 2004 that deal with people who are married but wish to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate is complex and often misunderstood. It is not possible for a married person to obtain a full Gender Recognition Certificate. The individual can only apply for an interim one. This will not alter the definition of his/her sex. When an Interim Gender Recognition Certificate is issued this allows either party to have the marriage annulled (section 12(g), Matrimonial Causes Act 1973). If the marriage is annulled, the Interim Gender Recognition Certificate becomes a full one and the individual is free to enter a marriage or civil partnership in accordance with her or his 'new sex'. If one spouse has an Interim Gender Recognition Certificate, the couple can remain married, but the 'new sex' will not be legally recognised, for fear that it would create a same-sex marriage. |
Marrying for bad reasons
Reading:
| R (on the application of the CPS) v. Registrar General [2003] QB1222 Concerning: whether the state could stop people marrying for improper purposes Facts A man was facing trial for murder. He and the woman who was to be the chief prosecution witness sought to marry. Under the law of evidence a wife cannot be compelled to give evidence against her husband (except in certain unusual circumstances). The Crown Prosecution Service sought an order that the Registrar General of Births, Marriages and Deaths should not issue a marriage certificate on the ground of public policy. Legal principle It was held that the Registrar General did not have the power to stop two people from marrying on the basis of public policy. The Human Rights Act 1998 protected the right to marry and that did not depend on a person having a good reason for marrying. |