Northern Ireland equality watchdog seeking formal ruling on definition of sex

[IwantToRetire]

The NI Equality Commission is asking the court to clarify how the UK Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Equality Act 2010 in Great Britain should be applied in the different legal context of Northern Ireland, where the 2010 Act does not apply.

The judgment did not consider the particular context of the different legal obligations in Northern Ireland, including Article 2 of the post-Brexit Windsor Framework.

Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said: “The Commission is obviously not seeking to challenge the Supreme Court’s judgment regarding the interpretation of the Equality Act 2010 in Great Britain.

“Our objective is to secure the greatest possible legal clarity regarding the interpretation of the judgment as it applies in Northern Ireland.”
She continued: “While we recognise that this process delays the Commission from providing guidance for employers, service providers and public authorities, this proactive approach aims to minimise the risks of legal action against them further down the line.

“By seeking clarification from the court at this stage, we aim to avoid prolonged periods of litigation once we provide our advice.

“We believe our approach will enable these contentious issues to be worked through systematically, in a focused manner which respects the diversity of deeply held beliefs and is in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland.”

https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/northern-ireland-equality-watchdog-seeking-court-guidance-on-definition-of-sex

If people read their submissions you’d see they are an activist organisation pushing their own gender ideology.

They aren’t a neutral party trying to clarify rights. It won’t save women having to sue because the law might be clarified but they won’t comply. The entire women’s sector is captured.

The Commission board is staffed by Rainbow trans rights activists.

I know ultimately the legal action will confirm women are women and men are men in biological terms but we have rights denied for years and still the legal battle to go.

Not sure how it’s not a given.

Reading FWS and the relevant legislation means it’s a given.

It’s 1970s legislation. Trans wasn’t in the legislators minds.

I have not looked at anything more recent but their initial proposal to seek a judicial construction of the law was couched in fairly neutral terms about seeking clarification of the impact (if any) of the WF.

There’s a lot more in other papers and 25 years of fudging and activism.

They want self ID and recognition for ‘intersex’ people. Except that’s so offensive to those with DSD and if they mean non-binary I don’t think NBs would like being called intersex.

Progressive in an embarrassing way.

Progressive in an embarrassing way.

Sure, that’s how it’s done over here. Our provincial elite/media class is always imitating the big boys & girls in London but never getting it quite right.

They can’t even copy and paste the legislation right - it’s always a year or two late with an additional twist.

Ie the cash for fuel scandal. Argh! 😖

I've just been reading this to try and remember what has been happening - or not happening
https://www.lewissilkin.com/insights/2025/07/03/does-the-for-women-apply-to-northern-ireland-the-equality-commission-for-ni-releases-guidance

Were the results of the consultation ever published?

https://equalityni.org/our-work/news/ecni-seeks-high-courts-advice-on-supreme-court-judgment

In December ECNI said

The Equality Commission has formally applied to the High Court for leave to apply for judicial review following the Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of ‘For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers’.

So assume its coming up this year.

Lewis Silkin confirms that position. I wonder how we'd find out - ECNI maybe?

The Commission published the consultation response here https://equalityni.org/our-work/areas-of-focus/supreme-court-decision-in-for-women-scotland-ltd-v-the-scottish-ministers/for-women-scotland-and-its-implications-for-northern-ireland-equality-law-consultation-summary-report

The latest on the ECNi website says there was a case management hearing on 27 January at which it was decided the leave hearing would wait until after the judgment in Dillon was published (obviously it now has been) and the next scheduled hearing would be 1 June, presumably that would be the permission/leave to proceed hearing, though I guess the courts could decide to do a wrapped up leave and decision hearing if it felt it had enough information to do so.

New article from Newsletter today with quote from Sex Matters:

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/courts/eu-intervening-hungary-style-on-trans-matters-now-less-likely-after-windsor-framework-judgment-8550682

http://archive.today/v8zrv

Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns for the charity Sex Matters, which is critical of transgenderism, cautioned against “reading too much” into the CJEU judgment against Hungary.

"The European court has ruled that Hungary cannot ban the promotion of transgender identities to under 18s, but it says nothing about single-sex spaces, or about the rights of other people,” she said.

"The Windsor Framework says there should be no diminution of human rights for people in Northern Ireland as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

That isn’t just about people who claim a transgender identity.

"It applies to everyone, and it matters especially to women and girls.
"If a man can say he is a woman and access female-only spaces, then women lose privacy, dignity and safety.

"The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland needs to do its job and declare that the only lawful way to provide single-sex spaces, services and sports is on the basis of biological sex, not claimed identity.

"This is what the Supreme Court ruled a year ago, and it’s perfectly in line with European law."

Bloody hell. Everyday is a school day. Didn't know that the Equality Act doesn't apply in the North. Finally might have an an excuse never to move back to Belfast! (Besides Devon does have the added advantage of Clotted Cream Teas!) Are there actually any political parties in the North who are sympathic to Womens Rights?

I think sadly many of the women's groups that receive funding are all captured.

Reclaim the Agenda who organise a lot of events around International Women's day and a well attended march are trans inclusise.
https://www.reclaimtheagenda.com/iwd26

I think there is a WRN branch in NI ...

And I think a branch of LGB Alliance ...

NI has a separate body of anti-discrimination legislation (most legislation is separate for NI and GB, and has been since 1922, and even before that) so it is not that similar protections don’t exist* but rather that they exist indifferently named legislation.

*there is a question about what the impact of Art.2 of the Windsor Agreement is on the application of the anti-discrimination provisions of the Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976 in light of the UKSC ruling on the equivalent provisions in the Equality Act for GB. ECNI have sought advice from the NI courts on this. Opinion is divided as to whether ECNI wants there to be an impact or not.

Please, Please Please tell me that LGB Alliance isn't capture?

Gosh I hope not!😬
It's whole raison d'être is to be LGB✂T. I'm sure it's fine, MyShyCat

I haven't quite followed where the confusion is coming from (too hot for one thing!) but could this be a confusion between LGBA, the group, and some LGBT group related to the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland?

Because the Alliance Party are pretty captured alright. https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/transgenderism-alliance-leader-naomi-long-declines-to-answer-what-is-a-woman-as-she-gets-embroiled-in-simmering-twitter-argument-4132482

(Although to be fair they did back the ban on puberty blockers because they said the evidence just wasn't there. OTOH they have been very critical of the Cass report, so I feel like they're trying to appease trans activists - and the whole NI madness on that, as Sarah Morrison has found to her cost - while remaining on the sane side of the "science" argument.)

There isn't any confusion.

If you are refering to my post i explicitly said funded groups are captured.

LBGA in NOT funded it is an autonomous campaign / support group.

I suggest them and the WRN NI as potentially 2 groups that are NOT captured.

The TUV are sympathetic- but few others.

Sinn Fein and Alliance are TWAW. UUP maybe somewhat sympathetic.

Naomi Long has been lying about men in women’s prisons - so that’s rubbish. That’s the Alliance Party for NI.

in the pro women non political party groups - we have Not All Gays (maybe Eire based), sports groups wanting single sex sports, Sex Matters have a UK wide remit so they’re monitoring and WRN have a presence.

The entire women’s sector, arts sector and LGBTQIA alphabetty spaghetti crew all bow down to the ideology.

The press have been captured but Newletter covers this space. So some orange politics people see women as distinct from men in dresses.

Dont think there is a single green politician who would express even a mild gender critical view.

There’s been a lot of Twitter activity this week as someone lauded by the rainbow letter crew - this man was just a standout pervert, a peadophile, abused women into forced sex work and other nasty bits.

No one checks they all are like dumb seals clapping themselves into extinction.

I was referring to the post I quoted. That wasn’t yours. It quoted another PP, again not you.
I don’t quite know where the confusion arose from so I don’t really know if your explanation clears it up or not.

Aontú (Nationalist Party) are very gender critical - their party in the ROI regularly speaks in the Dáil on the issue of Genderism negatively affecting women's rights. I know they run candidates in NI elections too.

But you are absolutely correct that the majority of parties and NGOs in NI are very much still stuck at the phase of debate that happened in GB about 5 years ago and are still very much behind the times regarding cultural changes happening elsewhere. I might as well say 'As usual' 🤷‍♀️

Hard agree on that @UtopiaPlanitia

The Court lists are showing GLP and ECNI cases are up on Monday at 10am so let’s see where that takes it probably for time tabling.