
US nonbinary citizen brings gender recognition certificate appeal to Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal is set to hear an appeal brought by Ryan Castellucci following a High Court ruling that it was lawful for the Gender Recognition Panel (GRP) not to issue them a nonbinary Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
Posted on 21 January 2025
Nonbinary US citizen Ryan Castellucci will bring their case on 21 January 2025. The hearing has been listed for one day at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
In 2019, Ryan moved to London with a Tier 1 Global Talent visa. Their gender is nonbinary under the law of California and is recorded on all of their official US documents. Accordingly, in 2022 they applied for a GRC to have their gender recognised in the UK though the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).
In a judgment handed down on 17 January 2024, the High Court rejected Ryan’s statutory appeal and claim for judicial review. The court concluded that in the GRA, the word “gender” could only be interpreted to mean binary gender of female or male, and that the decision not to grant Ryan a non-binary GRC via the overseas route could be justified on the basis that recognising non-binary gender would be administratively unworkable for the Government.
Ryan is appealing the High Court’s decision on two grounds:
- That the first instance court was wrong to conclude that the 2004 Act did not permit Ryan to obtain a GRC recording their foreign-acquired gender as nonbinary.
- That the first instance court was wrong to conclude that there were weighty reasons that justified the difference in the treatment of people with a foreign-acquired nonbinary gender in comparison to those with a foreign-acquired binary gender. Ryan argues that this is an infringement of their right not to be discriminated against under Article 14 of the European Court of Human Rights.
Ryan Castellucci said:
"There is already widespread recognition that gender is more complicated than female or male. The Home Office and NHS both record me as a third category. In the 2021 Census, the Office of National Statistics offered nonbinary people the chance to be counted as such. They agree nonbinary people exist.
“All I want is for the GRA to be followed as written. The government claims that if I were to be issued with a suitable GRC it would cause widespread administrative chaos. This is absurd. Dozens of other countries and territories have already granted legal recognition to nonbinary people. For some, it's now been well over a decade, with no signs of chaos. Why would anything be different here?"
Anna Dews said:
“This appeal raises issues which are obviously very important to Ryan, who is asking for their gender to be recognised in the UK by way of a GRC. The case also raises broader and equally as important questions to do with statutory interpretation where the act specifically refers to the recognition of the gender to which Ryan has changed under the law of California.”
Ryan is represented by Leigh Day human rights solicitors Kate Egerton and Anna Dews. Chris Butler KC from Matrix and Marlena Valles from Blackstone are instructed.
Ryan has set up a crowdfunding campaign to assist with the substantial costs of bringing this claim and appeal.