A finding of fact by one government department is not necessarily binding as such on any other department. The claimant sought a pension as the widow of a British citizen. The Home Office had accepted her marriage certificate as binding, but the Benefits Directorate had rejected it as a forgery.
Held: No issue estoppel arose. There was no sufficient degree of identity between different government departments, and the minister exercised the powers in his own name, not the Crown. The department which had rejected the certificate had not been involved in the earlier finding, and the evidence upon which the two findings had been made differed.
Judges:
Justice Munby
Citations:
Times 21-Jan-2002, Gazette 06-Mar-2002, [2001] EWHC Admin 1049
Links:
Benefits, Administrative
Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.167374