Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza
Section 3 required the words as his or her wife or husband in the Rent Act to be read as including same sex partners.
Facts
Mr Wallwyn-James was the protected tenant of a flat in London, where he lived with his same sex partner, Mr Godin-Mendoza, for many years. When Mr Wallwyn-James died in 2001, Mr Godin-Mendoza claimed to succeed to the tenancy. Under the Rent Act 1977, a person who had lived with the tenant as his or her wife or husband could succeed to a statutory tenancy, which gave greater protection than the assured tenancy available to other family members. The House of Lords had held in Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association (2001) that a same sex partner could not succeed as a spouse, but only as a member of the family.
Legal principle
The House of Lords held, by a majority, that under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998, the Rent Act should be read as if the words as his or her wife or husband meant as if they were his or her wife or husband, so that same sex partners could succeed to a statutory tenancy. Otherwise, the Act would discriminate on the ground of sexual orientation, contrary to article 14 taken with article 8 of the Convention. Lord Nicholls said that section 3 may require the court to depart from the unambiguous meaning the legislation would otherwise bear, and that it is not limited by the precise words used, but that the meaning adopted must be compatible with the underlying thrust of the legislation and must not require the courts to make decisions for which they are not equipped. Mr Godin-Mendoza succeeded to the tenancy.
Related cases on Human Rights Act 1998
- A v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, [2005] 2 AC 68
- Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley Parochial Church Council v Wallbank [2003] UKHL 37, [2004] 1 AC 546
- Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] UKHL 21, [2003] 2 AC 467
- Hirst v United Kingdom (No 2) (2006) 42 EHRR 41
- Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2010] UKSC 45, [2011] 2 AC 104
- R (AB) v Secretary of State for Justice [2021] UKSC 28
- R (Al-Skeini) v Secretary of State for Defence [2007] UKHL 26, [2008] 1 AC 153
- R (Begum) v Headteacher and Governors of Denbigh High School [2006] UKHL 15, [2007] 1 AC 100
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