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``That Woman Is a Woman!'' the Case of Bellinger v. Bellinger and the Mysterious (Dis)appearance of Sex: Bellinger v. Bellinger [2003] 2 All E.R. 593; [2003] F.C.R. 1; [2003] 2 W.L.R. 1174; [2003] UKHL 21

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Abstract

In the case of Bellinger v. Bellingerthe House of Lords has for the first time exercised the power to make a declaration of incompatibility under s. 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998, finding that U.K. law on marriage is in breach of Articles 8 and 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This case note argues, however, that despite this decision, and despite also recent judgements of the European Court of Human Rights upholdingthe rights of transsexual people, the principles applied in Bellingerdemonstrate that judicial discourse on transsexuality remains bound within the heterosexual and biological framework of Corbett v. Corbett.

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  1. School of Law, The University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

    Sharon Cowan

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  1. Sharon Cowan
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Cowan, S. ``That Woman Is a Woman!'' the Case of Bellinger v. Bellinger and the Mysterious (Dis)appearance of Sex: Bellinger v. Bellinger [2003] 2 All E.R. 593; [2003] F.C.R. 1; [2003] 2 W.L.R. 1174; [2003] UKHL 21 . Feminist Legal Studies 12, 79–92 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:FEST.0000026121.18280.d0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:FEST.0000026121.18280.d0

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