Tag: Ben Collins QC

R (A) v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority & Anor

Posted on | by Aileen McColgan KC | Leave a Comment on R (A) v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority & Anor

Supreme Court, [2021] UKSC 27, [2021] 1 WLR 3746, 9 July 2021

Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lady Arden, Lords Hamblen, Burrows and Stephens

The question for the Supreme Court was whether the exclusion of victims of human trafficking, from compensation under the 2012 iteration of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (“the CICS”) on the ground of their previous criminal convictions unjustifiably discriminated against them contrary to Articles 4 and 14 ECHR. The Court (per Lord Lloyd-Jones with whom Lady Arden and Lords Hamblen, Burrows and Stephens agreed) adopted broad approaches both to “ambit” and to “other status”. It accepted that the discrimination fell within Article 4 ECHR and that “having an unspent conviction which resulted in a custodial or community sentence is a status for the purposes of art 14”.

Because the claimants’ criminal convictions pre-dated and were unconnected with their status as victims of human trafficking the Court rejected their Thlimmenos claim that they had were entitled, by reason of being trafficked, to be treated differently from other CICS applicants with criminal convictions. The court did accept that the claimants had been discriminated against as people victims of trafficking with relevant unspent convictions, but concluded, having considered the approach of the Supreme Court in R (SC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26, [2021] 3 WLR 428 (see associated blog), that such discrimination was justified. Continue reading →

Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Mayor of London & Transport for London (Interested Party)

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Court of Appeal: Sir Geoffrey Vos C, Singh and Simler LJJ, [2020] EWCA Civ 1046, 5 August 2020

The claimant unsuccessfully appealed against the rejection by Lewis J of its challenge to the decision to remove the exemption in the congestion charging regime which had previously applied to private hire vehicles (PHVs). The exemption remained applicable to black cabs and to the 1% of PHVs which were wheelchair accessible. The claimant argued that the removal of the exemption amounted to indirect discrimination against BAME and women PHV drivers, 94% of PHV drivers being from BAME backgrounds whereas 88% of black cab drivers were white. Continue reading →

Adiatu & Independent Workers Union of GB v HM Treasury

Posted on | by Aileen McColgan KC

Divisional Court: Bean LJ and Cavanagh J, [2020] EWHC 1554 (Admin), 15 June 2020

The claimants sought unsuccessfully to challenge the approach taken by the Chancellor to the furlough scheme, arguing in particular that the exclusion of self-employed workers from entitlement to furlough payments and the restriction of payments for non-furloughed workers who could not attend work (because they were symptomatic or self-isolating) to SSP discriminated against self-employed workers contrary to Article 14 EHCR, and indirectly discriminated against women and BAME workers contrary to EU law. They also claimed that the Chancellor had failed to pay regard to the PSED in designing the scheme. Continue reading →