WATKINS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM
Inadmissible
David Thór Björgvinsson;Giovanni Bonello;Lech Garlicki;Ledi Bianku;Mihai Poalelungi;Nicolas Bratza
The applicant, Mr William Watkins, is a British national who was born in 1944 and lives in Salford. The applicant’s wife died on 7 June 1993. They had three children from the marriage, born in 1964, 1966 and 1981. In August 1993 the applicant applied for widows’ benefits and was informed that he was not entitled to these benefits as he was a man. He again claimed widows’ benefits in May 2003. His claim was rejected on 22 May 2003 on the ground that he was not entitled to widows’ benefits because he was not a woman. The applicant did not appeal 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. The applicant was not entitled to child benefit at the time of his claim. The domestic law relevant to this application is set out in Willis v. the United Kingdom, no. 36042/97, §§ 1426, ECHR 2002-IV and Runkee and White v. the United Kingdom, no. 42949/98, §§ 40-41, 25 July 2007.