Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions V. Sister Is,
2009
Glasgow Caledonian University
Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions V. Sister Is, Mel Cousins
Mel Cousins
This case before the Upper Tribunal concerned the rules of the state pension credit (SPC) which, in effect, provide that ‘members of religious orders’ who are ‘fully maintained by their order’ have no entitlement to a state pension credit. As the Three-Judge Panel pointed out this is the rule ‘regardless of the actual amount of their income or their other circumstances’. The case concerned both the interpretation of these two phrases and – assuming the Panel found that they applied to the claimants – the compatibility of such an approach with the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention issue).
Patmalniece V. Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions,
2009
Glasgow Caledonian University
Patmalniece V. Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions, Mel Cousins
Mel Cousins
In Patmalniece the Court of Appeal has considered the compatibility of the UK right to reside requirement with Regulation 1408/71/EEC on co-ordination of social security for migrants. The Court earlier upheld the compatibility of the right to reside rule with the EU Treaty in Abdirahman. However, this case was different in that the claimant – unlike those in the previous cases - was within the personal scope of Regulation 1408/71.
Human Rights, Anti-Discrimination And Social Security Benefits: Recent Uk Case Law,
2009
Glasgow Caledonian University
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 …
