PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 74961/01) 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 Alan Nelson (“the applicant”) on 4 October 2001.

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

By a decision of 10 September 2002 the Court decided to communicate the complaints concerning widows’ benefits and to declare the remainder of the application inadmissible. Under the provisions of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it subsequently decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1953 and lives in Hampshire.

His wife died on 28 March 1993, leaving two children born in 1989 and 1991. His claim for widows’ benefits was made in 1996 but no decision was ever issued.

His second claim for widows’ benefits was made on 19 January 1999 and was rejected on 14 February 2000 on the ground that he was not entitled to widows’ benefits because he was not a woman. However, the applicant never received this decision and it was only after contacting the Department of Work and Pensions (“DWP”) that he received a duplicate copy on 4 April 2001.

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