The Supreme Court heard a landmark Scottish case this week that will impact the legal rights of trans people throughout the UK.

The court was tasked with weighing various definitions of a “woman” and deciding which one will be the law. They will announce their decision sometime in the coming weeks.

The case is significant because it addresses a key human rights issue very directly: will the UK government legally recognise trans women as women?

The plaintiff, an organisation called For Women Scotland, which campaigns to limit and reduce the legal rights of trans women and girls, presented their arguments on Tuesday.

The organisation asserted in their briefing that it would be somehow detrimental to cisgender women and girls for trans women and girls to have the same civil rights: “The ordinary, biological meaning of sex is necessary to ensure the rights and protections provided to women/females of any age”. 

For Women Scotland hopes to legally enshrine sex as an unchangeable characteristic determined at birth so that rights and protections can be legally denied to trans people.

On Wednesday, lawyers representing the Scottish government argued in defence of the Gender Recognition Act of 2004, which allows transgender people to legally change their gender if they meet certain criteria and go through a process to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

In response to For Women Scotland’s claim that GRCs are “legal fictions”, a lawyer for the Scottish government said Wednesday that GRCs are “no more a legal fiction than adoption”.

The judges are currently deliberating. The court’s president said they would make a ruling “as soon as we can” which might be anytime over the next few weeks.

Their decision will determine whether trans women who have obtained a GRC are entitled to certain protections under the Equality Act of 2010.

This could include, for example, whether a trans woman should have access to womens-only services and spaces, or whether she should be able to file a claim for equal pay as a woman. 

If the court decides in favour of For Women Scotland, it will set a precedent for the UK government to deny transgender people civil rights afforded to the rest of the population.