The legal rights and protections of members of the LGBTI community have been subject to debate in courtrooms and in academic law discourse internationally for decades - increasingly so since the 1990s. A great deal of the legal literature consists of guides or journal articles on specific domestic legal systems and their rulings, with a particular focus on the United States and Europe.

The Oxford Handbook of LGBTI Law, in contrast, presents an unprecedented international view of the law as it pertains to sexual orientation and gender identity. This includes examination of how individual international courts have ruled on LGBTI issues, and how these issues have been addressed in regions not typically addressed in mainstream literature, such as Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Besides the corresponding question of LGBTI migration, a broad array of topics related to legal protections (or lack thereof) for LGBTI persons is also covered, from the legal rights to marriage and parenting to the rights to participate in sports, the workplace, and other areas of community life free from discrimination. Several chapters address issues specifically faced by transgender individuals and other gender minorities.

The Handbook is a comprehensive but concise collection of articles about the common problems faced by LGBTI people around the world written by an international team of renowned experts. Readers will benefit from their wealth of expertise and diversity of background while gaining a holistic understanding of how LGBTI people interact with the law, and how the scope of these interactions has changed over a span of several decades. The Handbook not only serves as an academic resource but also as a practical guide for those involved in advocacy and policymaking, ensuring that readers are well-equipped to understand and engage with the multifaceted legal issues surrounding gender identity and sexual orientation.