(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
(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 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.
(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,
“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.
(5) Before an order is made under this section, appropriate consultation must be undertaken with persons likely to be affected by it.
(1) Any power of the Secretary of State, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Scottish Ministers or a Northern 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, the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the Scottish Ministers to make an order under this Act, and any power of the Registrar General for England and Wales or the Registrar General for Scotland to make regulations under this Act, is exercisable by statutory instrument.
(3) No order may be made under section 2 or paragraph 11 of Schedule 3 unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing the order has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.
(4) A statutory instrument containing an order made by the Secretary of State under section 7, 22 or 23 is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(5) A statutory instrument containing an order made by the Scottish Ministers under section 22 or 23 is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Scottish Parliament.
(6) 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 Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1573 (N.I. 12)).
(7) 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.))).
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 26,
“chartered psychologist” means a person for the time being listed in the 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 “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 accordance with Schedule 1,
“subordinate legislation” means an Order in Council, an order, rules, regulations, a scheme, a warrant, bye-laws or any other instrument made under an enactment, and
“UK birth register entry” has the meaning given by section 10(2).
Apart from sections 23 to 25, this section and sections 28 and 29, this Act does not come into force until such day as the Secretary of State may appoint by order made after consulting the Scottish Ministers and the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland.
(1) This section applies where applications are made under section 1(1)(a) during the period of two years beginning with the appointed day (“the initial period”).
(2) Section 2(1)(a) has effect as if there were inserted at the end “or has undergone surgical treatment for the purpose of modifying sexual characteristics,”.
(3) In the case of an application which—
(a) is made during the first six months of the initial period, or
(b) is made during the rest of the initial period and is based on the applicant having undergone surgical treatment for the purpose of modifying sexual characteristics,
section 2(1)(b) has effect as if for “two” there were substituted “six”.
(4) Subsections (5) and (6) apply in the case of an application to which subsection (3) applies and in the case of an application—
(a) made during the rest of the initial period,
(b) based on the applicant having or having had gender dysphoria, and
(c) including a statutory declaration by the applicant that the applicant has lived in the acquired gender throughout the period of six years ending with the date on which the application is made.
(5) Section 3 has effect as if for subsections (1) to (3) there were substituted—
“(1) An application under section 1(1)(a) must include either—
(a) a report made by a registered medical practitioner, or
(b) a report made by a chartered psychologist practising in the field of gender dysphoria.
(2) Where the application is based on the applicant having or having had gender dysphoria—
(a) the reference in subsection (1) to a registered medical practitioner is to one practising in the field of gender dysphoria, and
(b) that subsection is not complied with unless the report includes details of the diagnosis of the applicant’s gender dysphoria.
(3) Subsection (1) is not complied with in a case where—
(a) the applicant has undergone or is undergoing treatment for the purpose of modifying sexual characteristics, or
(b) treatment for that purpose has been prescribed or planned for the applicant,
unless the report required by that subsection includes details of it.”
(6) Paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 1 has effect with the omission of paragraph (b).
(1) The following provisions extend only to England and Wales—
(a) Part 1 of Schedule 2,
(b) Part 1 of Schedule 3, and
(c) Part 1 of Schedule 4.
(2) The following provisions extend only to Scotland—
(a) section 24(5),
(b) Part 2 of Schedule 2,
(c) Part 2 of Schedule 3, and
(d) Part 2 of Schedule 4.
(3) The following provisions extend only to England and Wales and Scotland—
(a) paragraphs 12, 14 and 16 of Schedule 5, and
(b) Part 1 of Schedule 6.
(4) The following provisions extend only to Northern Ireland—
(a) section 23(3) and (4),
(b) section 24(6) and (7),
(c) Part 3 of Schedule 2,
(d) Part 3 of Schedule 3,
(e) Part 3 of Schedule 4,
(f) paragraphs 13, 15 and 17 of Schedule 5, and
(g) Part 2 of Schedule 6.
(5) Subject to subsections (1) to (4), this Act extends to Northern Ireland (as well as to England and Wales and Scotland).
This Act may be cited as the Gender Recognition Act 2004.