Their continuing family life and shared care of an adult son were central to the challenge, despite her falling outside prescribed family categories.
Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Andrews of Simpson Millar, who represented the applicant, says exceptional case funding requires attention to individual circumstances and potential Convention rights, rather than legal status alone. The coroner had granted the woman Interested Person status, and she was the only relative able to engage meaningfully with proceedings. The challenge also raised an ‘inequality of arms’ with legally represented public bodies.
Following pre-action judicial review correspondence, the agency granted and backdated legal help and exceptional case funding. It described the circumstances as exceptional: the decision does not expand statutory eligibility or set a precedent. No finding has yet been made on whether the state’s Article 2 obligations arise.
