British Judge Orders Prison Transfer for Transsexual Inmate

NewYorkLawSchool.TypePad.com – Leonard Link

In a case of first impression, Deputy High Court Judge David Elvin of the High Court of Justice in London ruled on September 4 that prison officials must transfer a transsexual inmate from a men’s prison to a women’s prison so that she can qualify for sex reassignment surgery. The ruling involved both the interpretation of the United Kingdom’s Gender Recognition Act of 2004, and of the European Convention on Human Rights’ guarantee of respect for private life. The Queen (on the Application of AB) v. Secretary of State for Justice, [2009] EWHC 2220 (Admin) (Sept. 4, 2009).