Corbett v Corbett
Encyclopedia
The case of Corbett v Corbett, heard in February 1970 with a 1971 decision, is a divorce case which set a legal precedent regarding the status of transsexuals in the United Kingdom
. It was brought at a time when the UK didn't recognise mutual consent as reason enough to dissolve a marriage and Arthur Corbett, the plaintiff, sought a method of dissolving his marriage to the model April Ashley
without the issue of inheritance rights.
His case was brought under the premise that, as Ashley was born male (and should therefore be treated as male in perpetuity despite her change of sex) the marriage was illegal. At the time, medical opinion on transsexuality was divided and no consensus on whether Ashley should be legally seen as male or female could be reached.
As a consequence, the judge (Lord Justice Ormrod
, who was himself a medical man) created a medical 'test' and definition to determine the legal status of April Ashley and, by extension, all transsexual people. The result of this test (which defined Ashley, a successful model, as a man) was then taken up and used to define the sex of transsexual people for many purposes until the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act 2004
(which ultimately defined the sex of transsexual people as whatever is on their birth certificate, until such point as a Gender Recognition Certificate corrects the birth certificate - hence for those who do not possess such a certificate, nothing has changed since 1970).
As a result of Justice Ormrod's decision, the unofficial correcting of birth certificates for transsexual and intersex
people ceased.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was brought at a time when the UK didn't recognise mutual consent as reason enough to dissolve a marriage and Arthur Corbett, the plaintiff, sought a method of dissolving his marriage to the model April Ashley
April Ashley
April Ashley is an English model and restaurant hostess. She was the first British person to be outed as a transsexual, which was by the Sunday People in 1961...
without the issue of inheritance rights.
His case was brought under the premise that, as Ashley was born male (and should therefore be treated as male in perpetuity despite her change of sex) the marriage was illegal. At the time, medical opinion on transsexuality was divided and no consensus on whether Ashley should be legally seen as male or female could be reached.
As a consequence, the judge (Lord Justice Ormrod
Roger Ormrod
Sir Roger Fray Greenwood Ormrod was a Privy Councillor and Lord Justice of Appeal ; he was also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.Ormrod was educated at Shrewsbury School and The Queen's College, Oxford...
, who was himself a medical man) created a medical 'test' and definition to determine the legal status of April Ashley and, by extension, all transsexual people. The result of this test (which defined Ashley, a successful model, as a man) was then taken up and used to define the sex of transsexual people for many purposes until the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act 2004
Gender Recognition Act 2004
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows transsexual people to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005.-Operation of the law:...
(which ultimately defined the sex of transsexual people as whatever is on their birth certificate, until such point as a Gender Recognition Certificate corrects the birth certificate - hence for those who do not possess such a certificate, nothing has changed since 1970).
As a result of Justice Ormrod's decision, the unofficial correcting of birth certificates for transsexual and intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
people ceased.