The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

R (on the application of Jwanczuk) (Respondent) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Appellant)

This appeal concerns a claim for bereavement support payment (“BSP”). BSP is a non-means-tested contributory benefit, the purpose of which is to assist with the additional expenditure typically associated with bereavement. Under sections 30-31 of the Pensions Act 2014 (the “2014 Act”), a person is entitled to BSP if (among other things) their spouse dies and, for at least one tax year during the deceased’s working life, he or she paid national insurance contributions (“NICs”) (the “Contribution Condition”). The issues raised by this appeal concern: (i) the circumstances in which courts in England and Wales may depart from decisions of appellate courts in Northern Ireland and Scotland regarding the same or substantially similar legislation; (ii) whether the inability to work during one’s lifetime as a result of a disability constitutes an “other status” for the purposes of Article 14 of the Convention; (iii) whether the policy behind the Contribution Condition justifies interference with Convention rights; and (iv) whether the CA was wrong in this case to have awarded the respondent an interpretive remedy under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (the “HRA”), rather than making a declaration of incompatibility under section 4 of the HRA.