The Supreme Court today handed down judgment in A and B v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority [2021] UKSC 27 – holding that the rules in the Scheme which excluded the appellants because of their own criminal convictions did not constitute unlawful discrimination contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Court held that, as a tax-payer funded expression of public sympathy, limiting awards to those who themselves have obeyed the law, and not cost money to society through their own offending behaviour, clearly pursues a legitimate aim. The Court further held that the provisions of the Scheme satisfy the requirement of proportionality – being rationally connection to the legitimate aim, no more intrusive than required and striking a fair balance between the competing interests.
