The Court considered a dependency claim by a person who had cohabited with the deceased for 6 months prior to death. The claim was for a declaration of incompatibility in relation to the 2 year + cohabitee provision in s.1 of the FAA which, the claimant said, discriminated against her and violated her rights under Article 8 and, alternatively, her right not to be discriminated against under Article 14 where rights within the ambit of Article 8 were engaged.
Held: The claim failed.
‘i) the claimaint had to show a direct and immediate link between the restriction on dependency claims to 2 year + cohabitees and the private or family life of the claimant. This may be shown where domestic law was in conflict with an important aspect of personal identity, or where the claim involved a most intimate aspect of private life. Family life was not involved because the claimant’s family life with the deceased was at an end. The circumstances did not show such a link with private life to enable Article 8 to be engaged.
ii) The case did not fall within the ambit of Article 8 either, for broadly the same reasons. Therefore Article 14 was not engaged.
iii) Article 14 would not have availed the claimant anyway because the fact that she fell outside the categories of permitted claimants for dependency under s.1 of the Act did not amount to a status, and Article 14 only prevents discrimination on the grounds of status (whether a status specified in Article 14 or amounting to ‘other status’).
iv) Finally, even if Articles 8 and 14 were engaged then exercising the value judgment described in Wilson referred to at [12] above, it was legitimate for Parliament to confine the liability of tortfeasors in respect of loss caused to individuals who were not the primary victims of the wrongdoing in question.
Judges:
Eadt J
Citations:
[2012] EWHC 2000 (QB)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Smith v Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Another QBD 8-Sep-2016
The claimant had cohabited with the deceased: ‘The claimant seeks a declaration in one of two alternative forms:
i) Pursuant to s.3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 . . that s.1A(2)(a) of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 . . is to be read as including . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Damages, Human Rights
Updated: 03 November 2022; Ref: scu.462959