Mclaughlin’s Application: QBNI 9 Feb 2016

The claimant appealed from refusal of payment of Bereavement Benefit and Widowed Parent’s Allowance on the grounds that she had neither married nor been civil partner of her deceased partner. She applied for judicial review of that decision on the ground that the relevant legislation was incompatible with the ECHR.
Held: That claim succeeded in part. Treacy J made a declaration of incompatibility under section 4(2) of the Human Rights Act 1998, that section 39A(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 is incompatible with article 8 of the ECHR in conjunction with article 14 ‘insofar as it restricts eligibility for Widowed Parent’s Allowance by reference to the marital status of the applicant and the deceased’. He rejected the claim in relation to the bereavement payment.
Treacy J
[2016] NIQB 11
Bailii
Social Security Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act 1992 36A 39A, European Convention on Human Rights 8
Northern Ireland
Cited by:
Appeal fromMclaughlin, Re Judicial Review CANI 13-Dec-2016
Widowed parent’s allowance. The Court of Appeal unanimously held that the legislation was not incompatible with article 14, read either with article 8 or with A1P1 . .
CitedMcLaughlin, Re Judicial Review SC 30-Aug-2018
The applicant a differently sexed couple sought to marry under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, but complained that they would lose the benefits of widowed parent’s allowance. Parliament had decided to delay such rules to allow assessment of reaction . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 06 September 2021; Ref: scu.564938