News
19 June, 2026
Lady Ross holds that relevant statutory schemes requires separate prison accommodation for men and women in accordance with biological sex
Lady Ross has today issued her Opinion in For Women Scotland v the Scottish Ministers [2026] CSOH 59.
Ampersand Advocates’ Tony Convery acted as junior counsel for the successful petitioner (with Aidan O’Neill KC as Senior Counsel), instructed by Balfour + Manson.
The petitioner challenged guidance (“Prisons Guidance”) issued by the Scottish Prison Service, related to the management of transgender prisoners.
Lady Ross held that the relevant statutory schemes required separate prison accommodation for men and women, in accordance with biological sex.
She found that the Prisons Guidance conflicted with those requirements insofar as it purported to allow the Scottish Prison Service to accommodate transgender prisoners in prisons for the opposite biological sex.
She also found that the application of the Prisons Guidance by the Scottish Ministers would be outside their powers under the Scotland Act 1998.
The full judgment can be accessed here.