Symposium: Towards A Gender Recognition Framework for Ireland

Friday 14 May 2010

Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, U.C.C., Room G10, 10.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Speakers at the symposium include:

• Prof. Andrew Sharpe, School of Law, Keele University
• Prof. Stephen Whittle, School of Law, Manchester Metropolitan University (pictured above)
• Ms. Eilís Barry, Barrister at Law
• Mr. Michael Farrell, Solicitor, Free Legal Advice Centres; Irish Human Rights Commission
• Ms. Tanya Ní Mhuirthile, Faculty of Law, University College Cork

Further information is available from Ms Noreen Delea, Faculty of Law, UCC, Cork Tel. (021) 490 2728.  E-mail: ccjhr@ucc.ie

For full details and a booking form for the symposium, see http://www.ucc.ie/en/ccjhr/fullstory,97981,en.html

This symposium forms part of an IRCHSS-funded project, Gender, Religious Diversity and Multiculturalism (PI: Dr. Siobhán Mullally, Law, UCC).

Delegate Fee: €20.00   CPD Points: 3 hours

Gender Recognition Legislation in the New Year?

The Irish Examiner reports today that, on foot of a Green Party proposal, legislation ‘allowing transsexuals to be recognised in their acquired gender’ will go before the Dail in the new year. The Examiner reports that ‘the state has dropped an appeal of a High Court decision that it is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights in not having a process and a register legally to recognise the acquired gender of transsexual persons.’ Tanya blogged about the proposals for gender recognition legislation in the new Programme for Government in some depth here. We hope to provide commentary when details of the proposed legislation emerge.

Update: Great video interview with Lydia Foy and Michael Farrell of FLAC here.

Hat-tip: One of our readers, Cat McIlroy, says

I spoke with Dr. Foy’s solicitor this afternoon to clarify the appeal statement in the Irish Examiner – neither he nor Lydia has heard anything regarding the Government dropping the appeal.

Thanks Cat!

New Programme for Government Promises the Introduction of Gender Recognition Legislation

Next Monday it will be two years since Mr Justice Liam McKechnie handed down his groundbreaking decision in Foy v An tArd Chlaraitheoir (No 2). In that case His Lordship issued the first ever Declaration of Incompatibility between Irish law and Ireland’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The cause of the incompatibility was the inability of Irish law to recognise the preferred gender identity of transgender people.

The Declaration should have put in motion a series of events which would have resulted in the Taoiseach reading the order into the records of each House of the Oireachtas within 21 working days (s5 of the ECHR Act, 2003). However, as this was the first time such an order had been handed down, His Lordship put a stay of two months on the implementation of the order to give the State the opportunity to decide whether to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. On Friday, March 28^th 2008 notice of such an appeal was lodged with the Supreme Court. The case has yet to be listed for hearing.