ABSTRACT
Mr X, the first applicant, worked as a college lecturer and was a female-to-male transsexual. Since 1979 he had lived in a permanent and stable union with the second applicant Ms Y, a woman. The third applicant, Miss Z, was born in 1992 to the second applicant as a result of artificial insemination with sperm from an anonymous donor (AID). X and Y had applied together as a couple for the treatment which was conducted with the agreement of the hospital medical ethics committee. Following Z’s birth, X was prevented from registering himself as the father since, under UK law, a person’s legal gender was that at birth and could not be subsequently changed. However Z took X’s surname and a joint residence order including parental responsibility was granted to both X and Y. They complained that the failure to legally recognise the relationship between X and Z was a breach of A 8 and that there was discrimination in their treatment under A 14. Comm found by a majority V 8, not necessary to consider 14.
