On the 21st of May, the EHRC’s Draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations (CoP) was laid before Parliament. Since then, over 157 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion (EDM240) calling for its rejection. If it is not rejected, it will become formal statutory guidance once the Secretary of State makes an Order, which could be any day from the 9th of July.

Many, including the MPs who have signed the EDM (and many others who, because of their ministerial duties, can’t sign), believe that the EHRC has exceeded its mandate by introducing a CoP with technical errors, internal inconsistencies, and significant legal omissions that will harm trans people and mislead service providers.

We also believe that the CoP is unworkable, potentially putting many everyday workers in very difficult situations and will also affect disabled people who may need to ‘compete’ with trans people for access to toilets and changing facilities - not to forget the many gender-non-confirming women who don’t look stereotypically female and will find themselves challenged.

Sadly, despite EDM240 being one of the most supported in Parliamentary history, the government has not indicated that it will even give it time for a CoP debate.

TransLucent believes the CoP is unlawful, and for this reason, we are challenging its lawfulness on behalf of the trans community and, indeed, all others affected by seeking a Judicial Review (JR).

On Friday, the 3rd of July 2026, the EHRC and the Secretary of State received a Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) letter setting out our arguments and informing them of our intention to bring a JR should it become effective in its current form.

We believe that we are in the ideal position to seek the JR, as an organisation that is led by, represents and advocates for the trans community - we are not a third party: we are the impacted. TransLucent has a good record in litigation, including our intervention in the Dr Beth Upton case and our continued intent to defend trans inclusion at Hampstead Heath Ponds.

We will be applying for a cost cap and have successfully raised enough to cover essential pre-action costs. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed so far – we couldn’t have got to this stage without you.

To keep moving forward, we are calling on allies, human rights defenders, and our community to support our Judicial Review fund. Going forward, the litigation will proceed in targeted stages starting from £50,000 as our claim progresses.

Every donation counts - please support.

[email protected]