PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 63476/00) against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by Mr Neil Steff (“the applicant”), on 26 September 2000.

The applicant was represented before the Court by Ms P. Glynn, a solicitor practising in London. The United Kingdom Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr C. Whomersley of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The applicant complained under Articles 8 and 14 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 that, because he was a man, he was denied social security and tax benefits equivalent to those received by widows.

By a partial decision of 15 January 2002 the Court decided to communicate this application. On 6 May 2003, after obtaining the parties’ observations, the Court declared the application admissible in so far as the complaint concerned Widowed Mother’s Allowance and Widow’s Bereavement Allowance and declared the remainder of the application inadmissible.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1955 and lives in Hertfordshire.

The applicant’s wife died on 9 February 1999, leaving two children, born in 1987 and 1992. On 11 May 2000 the applicant applied for widow’s benefits. By a letter dated 15 May 2000, the Benefits Agency informed him that it was unable to pay him any of the benefits claimed because he was not a woman.

On 6 June 2000 the applicant applied for an allowance under the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 on the same basis as he would receive it if he were a widow whose husband died in similar circumstances. He only received a letter of reply on 25 July 2000.

The applicant did not appeal further as he considered or was advised that such a remedy would be bound to fail since no social security or tax benefits were payable to widowers under United Kingdom law.