Scottish Human Rights Law Group

In McGibbon v. McAllister the Lord Ordinary held that the right to sue for damages in respect of the death of a child should be extended to include step-parents, on the basis that to exclude a step-parent in the position of the pursuer would be discriminatory and incompatible with Article 14 when taken together with Article 8 of the European Convention.   Accordingly in order to ensure the Convention compatibility of the definition in Schedule 1 of the Damages Scotland Act 1976 of “relative” with title to sue in respect of a death as including  “(b) any person who was a parent or child of the deceased” the  meaning of “parent” in this parent was to be understood as extending to include someone who to a material extent, as a matter of fact, fulfilled roles usually associated with parenthood.   This appears to be one of the few successful attempts to rely upon Article 14 before the Scottish courts.