The applicant had sought a student loan to support his studies as a mature student. It was refused because he would be over 55 at the date of the commencement of the course. He claimed this was discriminatory.
Held: The Convention required the state not to prevent access to education, not a duty to subsidise education. Though tertiary education fell within the meaning of ‘education’ in the Convention, the loan arrangements did not. Article 14 was not engaged. ‘The bottom line is that the measures of which complaint is made have to be linked to the exercise of the right guaranteed. The Secretary of State’s argument is that the Student Support Regulations are not intended to promote the subject matter of Article 2. They are not to do with the right to education. Their purpose, as is set out in the evidence, is to encourage greater access to higher education primarily for students wishing to improve their skills and qualifications.’ The court accepted that argument.
Judges:
Thorpe, Jonathan Parker, Scott Baker LJJ
Citations:
Times 22-Jan-2004, [2004] 1 All ER 709
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights 14
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Relating to certain aspects of the laws on the use of languages in education in Belgium (Belgian Linguistics) No 2 ECHR 9-Feb-1967
The applicants, parents of more than 800 Francophone children, living in certain (mostly Dutch-speaking) parts of Belgium, complained that their children were denied access to an education in French.
Held: In establishing a system or regime to . .
Cited – National Union of Belgian Police v Belgium ECHR 27-Oct-1975
Hudoc No violation of Art. 11; No violation of Art. 14+11
The Belgian Government failed to consult a municipal police union about legislation affecting public sector employment rights. The union’s direct . .
Cited – Schmidt And Dahlstrom v Sweden ECHR 6-Feb-1976
ECHR No violation of Art. 11; No violation of Art. 14+11 . .
Cited – Rasmussen v Denmark ECHR 28-Nov-1984
Article 14 requires a complainant of discrimination to show that the complaint falls within the ‘ambit’ of some substantive Convention right. . .
Cited – Carson and Reynolds v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions CA 17-Jun-2003
The claimant Reynolds challenged the differential treatment by age of jobseeker’s allowance. Carson complained that as a foreign resident pensioner, her benefits had not been uprated. The questions in each case were whether the benefit affected a . .
Cited – Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza CA 5-Nov-2002
The applicant sought to succeed to the tenancy of his deceased homosexual partner as his partner rather than as a member of his family.
Held: A court is bound by any decision within the normal hierachy of domestic authority as to the meaning . .
Cited – Petrovic v Austria ECHR 27-Mar-1998
The applicant was refused a grant of parental leave allowance in 1989. At that time parental leave allowance was available only to mothers. The applicant complained that this violated article 14 taken together with article 8.
Held: The . .
Cited – O’Connor v Chief Adjudication Officer and Another CA 11-Mar-1999
Regulations providing that a student stayed such until he concluded, or was dismissed from a course, were deeming provisions, and a student taking a year out after failing his exams, remained a student and was unable to claim benefits by way of . .
Cited by:
Cited – Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza HL 21-Jun-2004
Same Sex Partner Entitled to tenancy Succession
The protected tenant had died. His same-sex partner sought a statutory inheritance of the tenancy.
Held: His appeal succeeded. The Fitzpatrick case referred to the position before the 1998 Act: ‘Discriminatory law undermines the rule of law . .
Cited – Secretary of State for the Home Department v Hindawi and Headley CA 13-Oct-2004
The applicant was a foreign national serving a long-term prison sentence. He complained that UK nationals would have had their case referred to the parole board before his.
Held: The right to be referred to the parole board was a statutory . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Education, Benefits, Human Rights
Updated: 09 May 2022; Ref: scu.194069
