Gender Recognition Bill [HL]

House of Lords

Session 2003 - 04
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Gender Recognition Bill [HL]

Gender Recognition Bill [HL]
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Parenthood
The fact that a person’s gender has become the acquired gender under this Act
does not affect the status of the person as the father or mother of a child.
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Social security benefits and pensions
Schedule 5 (entitlement to benefits and pensions) has effect.
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Discrimination
Schedule 6 (amendments of Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65) and Sex
Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (S.I. 1976/1042 (N.I. 15))) has
effect.
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Succession etc.
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The fact that a person’s gender has become the acquired gender under this Act
does not affect the disposal or devolution of property under a will or other
instrument made before the appointed day.
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Peerages etc.
The fact that a person’s gender has become the acquired gender under this
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Act—
(a)
does not affect the descent of any peerage or dignity or title of honour,
and
(b)
does not affect the devolution of any property limited (expressly or not)
by a will or other instrument to devolve (as nearly as the law permits)
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along with any peerage or dignity or title of honour unless an intention
that it should do so is expressed in the will or other instrument.
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Trustees and personal representatives
(1)
A trustee or personal representative is not under a duty, by virtue of the law
relating to trusts or the administration of estates, to enquire, before conveying
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or distributing any property, whether a full gender recognition certificate has
been issued to any person or revoked (if that fact could affect entitlement to the
property).
(2)
A trustee or personal representative is not liable to any person by reason of a
conveyance or distribution of the property made without regard to whether a
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full gender recognition certificate has been issued to any person or revoked if
the trustee or personal representative has not received notice of the fact before
the conveyance or distribution.
(3)
This section does not prejudice the right of a person to follow the property, or
any property representing it, into the hands of another person who has
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received it unless that person has purchased it for value in good faith and
without notice.
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Orders where expectations defeated
(1)
This section applies where the disposition or devolution of any property under
a will or other instrument (made on or after the appointed day) is different
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from what it would be but for the fact that a person’s gender has become the
acquired gender under this Act.
(2)
A person may apply to the High Court or Court of Session for an order on the
ground of being adversely affected by the different disposition or devolution
of the property.
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(3)
The court may, if it is satisfied that it is just to do so, make in relation to any
person benefiting from the different disposition or devolution of the property
such order as it considers appropriate.
(4)
An order may, in particular, make provision for—
(a)
the payment of a lump sum to the applicant,
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(b)
the transfer of property to the applicant,
(c)
the settlement of property for the benefit of the applicant,
(d)
the acquisition of property and either its transfer to the applicant or its
settlement for the benefit of the applicant.
(5)
An order may contain consequential or supplementary provisions for giving
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effect to the order or for ensuring that it operates fairly as between the
applicant and the other person or persons affected by it; and an order may, in
particular, confer powers on trustees.
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Scottish gender-specific offences
(1)
Where (apart from this subsection) a relevant gender-specific offence could be
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committed or attempted only if the gender of a person to whom a full gender
recognition certificate has been issued were not the acquired gender, the fact
that the person’s gender has become the acquired gender does not prevent the
offence being committed or attempted.
(2)
An offence is a “relevant gender-specific offence” if—
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(a)
either or both of the conditions in subsection (3) are satisfied, and
(b)
the commission of the offence involves the accused engaging in sexual
activity.
(3)
The conditions are—
(a)
that the offence may be committed only by a person of a particular
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gender, and
(b)
that the offence may be committed only on, or in relation to, a person of
a particular gender;

and the references to a particular gender include a gender identified by
reference to the gender of the other person involved.
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Foreign gender change and marriage
(1)
A person’s gender is not to be regarded as having changed by reason only that
it has changed under the law of a country or territory outside the United
Kingdom.
(2)
Accordingly, a person is not to be regarded as being married by reason of
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having entered into a foreign post-recognition marriage.
(3)
But if a full gender recognition certificate is issued to a person who has entered
into a foreign post-recognition marriage, after the issue of the certificate the
marriage is no longer to be regarded as being void on the ground that (at the

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time when it was entered into) the parties to it were not respectively male and
female.
(4)
However, subsection (3) does not apply to a foreign post-recognition marriage
if a party to it has entered into a later (valid) marriage before the issue of the
full gender recognition certificate.
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(5)
For the purposes of this section a person has entered into a foreign post-
recognition marriage if (and only if)—
(a)
the person has entered into a marriage in accordance with the law of a
country or territory outside the United Kingdom,
(b)
before the marriage was entered into the person had changed gender
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under the law of that or any other country or territory outside the
United Kingdom,
(c)
the other party to the marriage was not of the gender to which the
person had changed under the law of that country or territory, and
(d)
by virtue of subsection (1) the person’s gender was not regarded as
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having changed under the law of any part of the United Kingdom.
Supplementary
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Prohibition on disclosure of information
(1)
It is an offence for a person who has acquired protected information in an
official capacity to disclose the information to any other person.
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(2)
“Protected information” means information which relates to a person who has
made an application under section 1(1) and which—
(a)
concerns that application or any application by the person under
section 5(2) or 6(1), or
(b)
if the application under section 1(1) is granted, otherwise concerns the
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person’s gender before it becomes the acquired gender.
(3)
A person acquires protected information in an official capacity if the person
acquires it—
(a)
in connection with the person’s functions as a member of the civil
service, a constable or the holder of any other public office or in
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connection with the functions of a local or public authority or of a
voluntary organisation,
(b)
as an employer, or prospective employer, of the person to whom the
information relates or as a person employed by such an employer or
prospective employer, or
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(c)
in the course of, or otherwise in connection with, the conduct of
business or the supply of professional services.
(4)
But it is not an offence under this section to disclose protected information
relating to a person if—
(a)
the information does not enable that person to be identified,
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(b)
that person has agreed to the disclosure of the information,
(c)
the information is protected information by virtue of subsection (2)(b)
and the person by whom the disclosure is made does not know or
believe that a full gender recognition certificate has been issued,
(d)
the disclosure is in accordance with an order of a court or tribunal,
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(e)
the disclosure is for the purpose of instituting, or otherwise for the
purposes of, proceedings before a court or tribunal,
(f)
the disclosure is for the purpose of preventing or investigating crime,
(g)
the disclosure is made to the Registrar General for England and Wales,
the Registrar General for Scotland or the Registrar General for
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Northern Ireland,
(h)
the disclosure is made for the purposes of the social security system or
a pension scheme,
(i)
the disclosure is in accordance with provision made by an order under
subsection (5), or
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(j)
the disclosure is in accordance with any provision of, or made by virtue
of, an enactment other than this section.
(5)
The Secretary of State may by order make provision prescribing circumstances
in which the disclosure of protected information is not to constitute an offence
under this section.
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(6)
The power conferred by subsection (5) is exercisable by the Scottish Ministers
(rather than the Secretary of State) where the provision to be made is within the
legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
(7)
An order under subsection (5) may make provision permitting—
(a)
disclosure to specified persons or persons of a specified description,
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(b)
disclosure for specified purposes,
(c)
disclosure of specified descriptions of information, or
(d)
disclosure by specified persons or persons of a specified description.
(8)
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
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Power to modify statutory provisions
(1)
The Secretary of State may by order make provision for modifying the
operation of any enactment or subordinate legislation in relation to—
(a)
persons whose gender has become the acquired gender under this Act,
or
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(b)
any description of such persons.
(2)
The power conferred by subsection (1) is exercisable by the Scottish Ministers
(rather than the Secretary of State) where the provision to be made is within the
legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
(3)
The appropriate Northern Ireland department may by order make provision
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for modifying the operation of any enactment or subordinate legislation which
deals with a transferred matter in relation to—
(a)
persons whose gender has become the acquired gender under this Act,
or
(b)
any description of such persons.
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(4)
In subsection (3)—

“the appropriate Northern Ireland department”, in relation to any
enactment or subordinate legislation which deals with a transferred
matter, means the Northern Ireland department which has
responsibility for that matter,
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“deals with” is to be construed in accordance with section 98(2) and (3) of
the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47), and

“transferred matter” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of that Act.
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Orders and regulations
(1)
Any power of the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers or a Northern
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Ireland department to make an order under this Act includes power to make
any appropriate incidental, supplementary, consequential or transitional
provision or savings.
(2)
Any power of the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers to make an order
under this Act, and any power of the Registrar General for England and Wales
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or the Registrar General for Scotland to make regulations under this Act, is
exercisable by statutory instrument.
(3)
A statutory instrument containing an order made by the Secretary of State
under section 2, 21 or 22 is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of
either House of Parliament.
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(4)
A statutory instrument containing an order made by the Scottish Ministers
under section 22 is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the
Scottish Parliament.
(5)
Any power of a Northern Ireland department to make an order or regulations
under this Act is exercisable by statutory rule for the purposes of the Statutory
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Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1573 (N.I. 12)).
(6)
Orders and regulations made by a Northern Ireland department under this Act
are subject to negative resolution (within the meaning of section 41(6) of the
Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33 (N.I.))).
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Interpretation
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In this Act—
“the acquired gender” is to be construed in accordance with section 1(2),
“approved country or territory” has the meaning given by section 2(4),
“the appointed day” means the day appointed by order under section 25,
“chartered psychologist” means a person for the time being listed in the
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British Psychological Society’s Register of Chartered Psychologists,
“enactment” includes an enactment contained in an Act of the Scottish
Parliament or in any Northern Ireland legislation,
“full gender recognition certificate” and “interim gender recognition
certificate” mean the certificates issued as such under section 4 or 5 and
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“gender recognition certificate” means either of those sorts of
certificate,
“gender dysphoria” means the disorder variously referred to as gender
dysphoria, gender identity disorder and transsexualism,
“Gender Recognition Panel” (and “Panel”) is to be construed in
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accordance with Schedule 1,
“subordinate legislation” means an Order in Council, an order, rules,
regulations, a scheme, a warrant, byelaws or any other instrument
made under an enactment, and
“UK birth register entry” has the meaning given by section 10(2).
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