Law Commons^™

The Women Feminism Forgot: Rural And Working-Class White Women In The Era Of Trump, Lisa R. Pruitt

Lisa R Pruitt

Surrogacy, Equal Status And Social Welfare Benefits, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

Social Security, Discrimination And Justification Under The European Convention On Human Rights, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This article considers the current state of the law concerning justification of potentially discriminatory treatment in the area of social security under the European Convention on Human Rights. Over time the UK courts have become familiar with the Convention and have improved their interpretation of human rights law and, in particular, non-discrimination under Article 14 of the Convention. The final step in this process is the consideration of proportionality in relation to the justification of potentially discriminatory provisions. There have been a number of recent important decisions on this issue from the Supreme Court including the Recovery of Medical Costs …

The European Convention On Human Rights, The Un Convention On The Rights Of The Child And The ‘Benefit Cap’ - R (Sg) V Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions [2015] Uksc 16, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This note looks at the recent decision of the UK Supreme Court in the 'benefit cap' case. The Court narrowly rejected the appeal concerning whether the benefit cap was in breach of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights but some judges would have held that the cap was in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Pregnancy As A ‘Personal Circumstance’? A Case Study Of Equality Jurisprudence Under The Canadian Charter Of Rights, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This article examines the recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Miceli-Riggins v Attorney General of Canada as an example of the approach which the Canadian courts are taking to the interpretation of s. 15 of the Charter of Rights (in the area of social benefits) following the Supreme Court’s recent attempts to ‘restate’ that law in a series of cases. It argued that, whatever the intention of the Supreme Court, the restatement of the law has created general confusion in the lower courts and tribunals. In addition, in cases concerning social benefits, the Court’s statements, in cases …

Pension ‘Splitting’, Property Rights, Equality And The Canadian Charter Of Rights - Runchey V. Canada (Attorney General), 2013 Fca 16, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This note discusses the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Runchey v. Canada (Attorney General). The case concerned an equality challenge concerning provisions of the Canada Pension Plan (the Plan) under s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This was dismissed by the Court. However, the main focus of this note is to point out that it is arguable that the main issue raised in the case (i.e. the loss of pension rights by one spouse without any gain to the other) is not a s. 15 equality issue but rather an unjust deprivation …

Equal Treatment And Objective Justification In Social Security Cases Under The European Convention On Human Rights, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This article discusses recent UK case law on equal treatment and social security with particular reference on objective justification in two important recent decisions: the Supreme Court decision in Humphreys and the Court of Appeal’s judgement in Burnip. There has been a marked and progressive improvement in the analysis of equal treatment issues under the ECHR by the UK courts. Decisions of European Court have helped to clarify that Article 14 is not narrowly confined to the grounds set out in Article 14 and that a broader range of statuses are also covered. The more flexible approach to comparators has …

Regulating The Family: The Impact Of Pro-Family Policy Making Assessments On Women And Non-Traditional Families, Robin S. Maril

Robin S. Maril

Beginning in the 1980s, pro-family advocates lobbied the Reagan administration to take a stronger, more direct role in enforcing traditional family norms through agency rulemaking. In 1986 the White House Working Group on the Family published a report entitled, The Family: Preserving America’s Future, detailing what its authors perceived to be the biggest threats to the “American household of persons related by blood, marriage or adoption – the traditional . . . family.” These threats included a lax sexual culture carried over from the 1960s, resulting in rising divorce rates, children born “out of wedlock,” and increased acceptance of “alternative …

A Case Of Premature Litigation: Surrogacy, Equal Protection And Social Welfare Benefits, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The issue of surrogacy in Irish law has received considerable (if somewhat belated) attention following the decision of the High Court to recognise a surrogate mother as the child’s mother for the purposes of birth certification. The Equality Tribunal has also referred to the European Court of Justice a complaint in which it has been argued that the failure to provide leave to a surrogate mother was in breach of EU and international law. A claim has also been brought under the Equal Status Acts (ESA) arguing that the failure of the Department of Social Protection (DSP) to provide a …

Race, Rat Bites And Unfit Mothers: How Media Discourse Informs Welfare Legislation Debate, Lucy A. Williams

Lucy A. Williams

This article exposes and critiques the media images of poor women and children that drive legislative debate in social assistance, or welfare public policy issues in the United States. It explores the impact of media images on law-making by focusing on three statutory time periods: 1935, when the Aid to Dependent Children program was initially enacted as part of the Social Security Act; 1967, when the first mandatory work requirements were added to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, and the mid-1990s, when states began implementing widely divergent categorical eligibility requirements that restrict benefits in an attempt to …

Judging Parents, Judging Place: Termination Of Parental Rights In Rural America, Lisa R. Pruitt, Janet L. Wallace

Lisa R Pruitt

Parents are constantly judged, by fellow parents and by wider society. But the consequences of judging parents sometimes extend beyond community reputation and social status. When law and legal institutions get involved, such judgments may result in the termination of parental rights. In these legal contexts, parents’ merits as parents are typically assessed in relation to a wide array of their decisions and actions, including where they live.

Among those judged harshly in relation to geography are impoverished parents who live in rural places. Yet judgments of these parents are particularly unfair in that poor rural parents often do not …

Judging Parents, Judging Place: Poverty, Rurality And Termination Of Parental Rights, Lisa R. Pruitt, Janet L. Wallace

Lisa R Pruitt

Parents are constantly judged, by fellow parents and by wider society. But the consequences of judging parents sometimes extend beyond community reputation and social status. When law and legal institutions get involved, such judgments may result in the termination of parental rights. In these legal contexts, parents’ merits as parents are typically assessed in relation to a wide array of their decisions and actions, including where they live.

Among those judged harshly in relation to geography are impoverished parents who live in rural places. Yet judgments of these parents are particularly unfair in that poor rural parents often do not …

Judging Parents, Judging Place: Termination Of Parental Rights In Rural America, Lisa R. Pruitt, Janet L. Wallace

Lisa R Pruitt

Parents are constantly judged, by fellow parents and by wider society. But the consequences of judging parents sometimes extend beyond community reputation and social status. When law and legal institutions get involved, such judgments may result in the termination of parental rights. In these legal contexts, parents’ merits as parents are typically assessed in relation to a wide array of their decisions and actions, including where they live.

Among those judged harshly in relation to geography are impoverished parents who live in rural places. Yet judgments of these parents are particularly unfair in that poor rural parents often do not …

Human Rights, Anti-Discrimination And Social Security Benefits: Recent Uk Case Law, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

Since the adoption of the Human Rights Act 1998, challenges to UK social security law on the basis of the European Convention on Human Rights have become common - especially under the anti-discrimination provisions of Article 14. However, few of these challenges have been successful and, in general, the English courts have shown a poor understanding of the principles of human rights law. The recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in Stec (2005) 41 EHRR SE 295 and the House of Lords in RJM (2008) UKHL 63 have clarified important issues including the material scope of the …

Widow's Pension And Gender Equality: Runkee V. United Kingdom, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The long litigation saga involving the compatibility of UK legislation on survivors’ benefits appears to have come to a (not particularly glorious) end with the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) decision in Runkee and White v United Kingdom. This case involved a challenge to the compatibility of national law on the payment of widows’ pensions solely to women, similar to that considered by the House of Lords in Hooper and the ECtHR came to a similar conclusion holding that UK law was not incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.