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    European Court of Human Rights


    You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> 17 Widows and Widowers v United Kingdom [2009] ECHR 241 (9 January 2009)
    URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2009/241.html
    Cite as: [2009] ECHR 241

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    Resolution CM/ResDH(2009)411

    Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

    17 cases concerning discrimination between widows and widowers on grounds of gender regarding social security benefits against the United Kingdom


    (see details in Appendix)


    The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);


    Having regard to the judgments transmitted by the Court to the Committee once they had become final;


    Recalling that the applicants’ admissible complaints in these cases concerned the fact that as widowers they were not entitled to widow's social security benefits (complaints under Article 8, 14 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1);


    Whereas in these cases the Court, having taken formal note of friendly settlements reached by the government of the respondent state and the applicants, and having been satisfied that the settlements were based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention or its Protocols decided, unanimously, to strike these cases out of its list and took note of the parties’ undertaking not to request a re-hearing of the cases before the Grand Chamber;


    Whereas under these friendly settlements it was agreed that the government of the respondent state would pay the applicants certain sums (see Appendix), within three months as from the notification of the judgments;


    Recalling that the striking-out of a case which has been declared admissible is effected by means of a judgment which the President forwards to the Committee of Ministers once it has become final in order to allow it to supervise, in accordance with Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the execution of any undertakings which may have been attached to the discontinuance, friendly settlement or solution of the matter;


    Having invited the government of the respondent state to inform the Committee of the measures taken in order to comply with its obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by the judgments;


    Having examined the information provided by the government in accordance with the Committee’s Rules for the application of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention;


    Having satisfied itself that within the time-limit agreed to under the terms of the friendly settlement, the government of the respondent state paid the applicants the sums provided in the friendly settlement and that no other measure was required in these cases to comply with the Court’s judgment;


    Having examined the information supplied by the government of the United Kingdom,


    DECLARES that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention with respect to the commitments subscribed to in these cases and


    DECIDES to close their examination.

    Appendix to Resolution CM/ResDH(2009)41


    Information about the measures to comply with the judgments in 17 cases concerning discrimination between widows and widowers on grounds of gender regarding social security benefits against the United Kingdom


    Details of payments


    Name and application No.

    Date of judgment

    Pecuniary damage

    Costs and expenses

    Total

    CAIRNEY 45773/99

    20/11/2007

    4 729,91 GBP

    -

    4 729,91 GBP


    Paid on 09/01/2006

    COLE

    60933/00

    23/05/2006

    16 380,93 GBP

    -

    16 380,93 GBP


    Paid on 16/09/2005

    CORCORAN and others

    60525/00+

    06/02/2007

    22 235,55 GBP

    4 494,61 GBP

    26 730,16 GBP


    Paid on 16/09/2005

    CREW

    61928/00

    09/01/2007

    5 817,53 GBP

    -

    5 817,53 GBP


    Paid on 19/08/2005

    DAVIS and others

    60946/00+

    06/02/2007

    26 058,59 GBP

    6 282,68 GBP

    32 341,27 GBP


    Paid on 09/12/2005

    DOBB

    63388/00

    20/11/2007

    -

    10,00 GBP

    10,00 GBP


    Paid on 17/09/2007

    DONOVAN

    63466/00

    06/03/2007

    4 410,69 GBP

    1 935,65 GBP

    6 346,34 GBP


    Paid on 12/06/2006

    GAMBLE

    68056/01

    09/01/2007

    5 849,55 GBP

    2 075,04 GBP

    7 924,59 GBP


    Paid on 04/04/2006

    GREENHALGH

    61956/00

    05/09/2006

    3 888,59 GBP

    -

    3 888,59 GBP


    Paid on 19/09/2006

    HANCOCK and others

    63470/00+

    06/03/2007

    60 864.80 GBP

    (global sum)

    -

    60 496.45 GBP2


    Paid within the time-limit

    HART and others

    61019/00+

    06/02/2007

    44 197.21 GBP

    (global sum)

    -

    43 948.56 GBP3


    Paid within the time-limit

    HYDE

    63287/00

    05/09/2006

    8 703,53 GBP

    -

    8 703,53 GBP


    Paid on 01/06/2006

    MCWILLIAMS

    53738/00

    09/10/2007

    -

    -

    7 035,56 GBP


    Paid within the time-limit

    OLIVER and BRITTEN

    61604/00+

    25/04/2006

    36 009,72 GBP

    -

    36 009,72 GBP


    Paid on 26/09/2005

    RATHFELDER

    63507/00

    09/01/2007

    23 433,88 GBP

    -

    23 433,88 GBP


    Paid on 26/09/2005

    SINCLAIR

    68621/01

    09/10/2007

    8 611,41 GBP

    1 740,6 GBP

    10 352,01 GBP


    Paid on 26/09/2005

    TERRILL and others

    60469/00+

    16/01/2007

    59 440,01 GBP

    10 070,31 GBP

    69 510,32 GBP


    Paid on 03/10/2005


    1 Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 9 January 2009 at the 1043rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies

    2 The reduced amounts paid in this case result from an agreement between the parties relating to cost and expenses

    3 See footnote 2.


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URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2009/241.html