European Court of Human Rights

Resolution CM/ResDH(2009)157¹

Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

7 cases concerning discrimination between widows and widowers on grounds of gender regarding social security benefits against 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)(see details in Appendix);

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 Court 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 settlements, the government of the respondent state paid the applicants the sums provided in the friendly settlements 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)157

Information about the measures to comply with the judgments in 7 cases concerning discrimination between widows and widowers on grounds of gender regarding social security benefits against the United Kingdom

Details of Payments