Supreme Court allows Secretary of State’s appeal in Article 14 challenge to BSP contribution condition—R (Jwanczuk) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Supreme Court unanimously allowed the Secretary of State’s appeal in R (Jwanczuk) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, ruling that the respondent was not entitled to bereavement support payment (BSP). The respondent, whose late wife had not worked (and thus had not paid national insurance contributions) due to her disability, had challenged the contribution condition for BSP under Article 14 and Article 1 of the First Protocol (A1P1) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The respondent’s claim had succeeded before the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales, which applied a Northern Ireland Court of Appeal (NICA) decision on similar issues. Allowing the Secretary of State’s appeal, the Supreme Court noted that while rulings of the appellate courts in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland should be considered persuasive in similar legal matters arising in other UK jurisdictions, the weight given to those rulings will depend on various factors. In this case, the Supreme Court considered there were good reasons for departing from the NICA decision. On the question of unlawful discrimination, the Supreme Court found the BSP contribution condition to be justified in pursuit of legitimate aims, striking a fair balance between the rights of individuals impacted and the interests of the community as a whole. Lord Reed and Lady Simler gave a joint judgment, with which the other members of the Court agreed.