Trans Judge Victoria McCloud Takes the U.K. to the European Court of Human Rights.

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Judge Victoria McCloud, the first transgender person to serve as a Master of the High Court in the U.K., has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against a controversial Supreme Court decision.

In April, the Supreme Court ruled that “legal sex” must correspond exclusively to the biological sex assigned at birth. According to McCloud, this decision represents a serious violation of the fundamental rights of trans people.

McCloud argues that the ruling has had a direct impact on her life and on that of around 8,500 others. In her complaint, she claims violations of:

• Article 6: right to a fair trial,

• Article 8: right to private and family life,

• Article 14: prohibition of discrimination.

“The court erased our legal identity. We are forced to use unsafe and inappropriate spaces, like male changing rooms, even if we have female anatomy,” she said in an interview.

McCloud left the judiciary in 2024, citing hate campaigns from anti-trans activists. After stepping down, she sought to participate in the Supreme Court case as an intervenor—a person directly affected by the outcome, though not a party to the case. Her application was rejected.

Meanwhile, groups opposing trans rights such as Sex Matters and LGB Alliance were granted the opportunity to provide testimony. According to McCloud and the Trans Legal Clinic, this highlights how trans voices are systematically excluded from decisions that directly affect them.

The implications of the ruling are already tangible. In Scotland, police announced that body searches will be conducted based on biological sex. Several Labour ministers have also defended the Supreme Court’s decision, with some even suggesting that trans people could be barred from public or gender-segregated spaces altogether.

The backlash was swift. Over the summer, Pride organizers in several cities banned all political parties, including Labour, in protest against policies they described as discriminatory.

McCloud’s case is not the only one challenging the ruling. In July, the Good Law Project launched a separate legal action against the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance, which strictly applies the Supreme Court’s interpretation. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November.

The ECHR’s decision on McCloud’s complaint could therefore prove decisive: not only for the future of trans rights in the U.K., but also for the broader European debate on equality and inclusion.

Official source:

This article is based on information from an original piece by Samantha Riedel, published on Them.us on August 18, 2025: https://www.them.us/story/uk-trans-judge-supreme-court-biological-sex-ruling-victoria-mccloud

written by Sara Maggetto