Tag: Karon Monaghan 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 →

Forstater v CGD Europe & Ors

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EAT: Choudhury P, Mr C Edwards and Mrs MV McArthur) UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ, [2021] IRLR 706, 10 June 2021

The EAT allowed the claimant’s appeal against a finding of the employment tribunal (Employment Judge Tayler) that the claimant’s “gender critical” views fell outwith the protection afforded by the EqA to “belief”. The EAT ruled that the tribunal had misapplied the test in Grainger plc v Nicholson (2009) the fifth element of which (which concerned whether a belief was worthy of respect in a democratic society) imposed a very low threshold which served to exclude from protection only those beliefs which would excluded from the protection of Articles 9 and/or 10 ECHR by Article 17 thereof. Continue reading →

Wisbey v Commissioner of the City of London Police & Anor

Posted on | by Aileen McColgan KC | Leave a Comment on Wisbey v Commissioner of the City of London Police & Anor

Court of Appeal: Peter Jackson, Simler and Lewis LJJ, [2021] EWCA Civ 650, 6 May 2021

Here the Court of Appeal (Simler LJ with whom Peter Jackson and Lewis LJJ agreed) dismissed an appeal against a tribunal’s refusal to award compensation in respect of indirect sex discrimination to a police officer who was subject to a detriment because of his defective colour vision, a condition which affects 8% of men and 0.25% of women, rejecting the claim that s124 EqA breached EU law or Article 14 ECHR. Continue reading →