Jurisdictional comity in the Supreme Court – Administrative Court Blog
‘Co-editor of the blog, Lewis Graham, has written on the Article 14 ECHR aspects of R (Jwanczuk) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2025] UKSC 42. The Supreme Court concluded that the “contribution condition” for bereavement support payment in the Pensions Act 2014, section 31, did not breach Article 14 ECHR read with Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the ECHR (“A1P1”). This condition required an applicant’s deceased spouse or civil partner to have paid certain national insurance contributions during their working life. The Claimant’s case, which the Supreme Court rejected, was that this condition gave rise to unjustified discrimination. The Supreme Court stated this “may seem a harsh decision” ([160]), but the result was not unexpected: this is the clear direction of travel since the Supreme Court’s judgment in R (SC, CB and 8 children) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26, [2022] A.C. 223.’
Administrative Court Blog, 6th December 2025
