SelectedWorks - Mel Cousins

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Selected Works of Mel Cousins

Research Fellow

Mel Cousins qualified as a barrister-at-law at the King’s Inns, Dublin and has a PhD from Glasgow Caledonian University. He has worked as a social policy adviser to a range of organizations including the Asian Development Bank, European Commission, the World Bank, AusAID, DFID, and UN agencies (including ILO, UNDP, UNICEF, WHO) in a wide range of countries. He has written extensively on social security and social policy issues from both a legal and policy perspective.He s attached to the School of social work and social policy at Trinity College Dublin and is involved in ongoing social policy research at national and international level.

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About Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins qualified as a barrister-at-law at the King’s Inns, Dublin and has a PhD from Glasgow Caledonian University. He has worked as a social policy adviser to a range of organizations including the Asian Development Bank, European Commission, the World Bank, AusAID, DFID, and UN agencies (including ILO, UNDP, UNICEF, WHO) in a wide range of countries. He has written extensively on social security and social policy issues from both a legal and policy perspective.He s attached to the School of social work and social policy at Trinity College Dublin and is involved in ongoing social policy research at national and international level.

Present	Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Institution Organization Position Type Position Title Time Period to Options Current Position Affiliate my profile with this Institution
Present	School of social policy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Institution Organization Position Type Position Title Time Period to Options Current Position Affiliate my profile with this Institution

Law

Legal challenges to ‘vaccine pass’ requirements in France and the United States of America (Mel Cousins) (2021)

Just as the EU has introduced its Digital COVID Certificate and Ireland has introduced a requirement for indoor hospitality that adults are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 6 months, other ...

The Irish social protection response to COVID 19 - August UPDATE (Mel Cousins) (2020)

This note outlines briefly the response of the Irish social protection system to COVID-19 and sets out data for the numbers in receipt of the various payments.The response has consisted of two main actions:1) Illness ...

Bereavement Support Payment and Severe Disability: O’Donnell v Department of Communities (Mel Cousins) Journal of Social Security Law (2021)

This note looks at the recent decision of the Northern Ireland (NI) Court of Appeal in which it held that the contribution requirements of the Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) discriminates against people with severe lifelong ...

Equality and social welfare payments: Donnelly -v- The Minister for Social Protection (Mel Cousins) (2021)

The Supreme Court has (perhaps surprisingly) granted leave to appeal from the Court of Appeal’s decision in Donnelly v Minister for Social Protection. In that case, the Court of Appeal (CA) rejected a challenge to ...

The “Benefit Cap” and Human Rights before the Supreme Court (Mel Cousins) Journal of Social Security Law (2020)

In R. (on the application of DA) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; R. (on the application of DS) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the UK Supreme Court addressed a ...

Taking equal protection beyond its proper scope? Why people with sincere religious beliefs can continue to discriminate (Mel Cousins) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law (2019)

The balance to be struck between the rights of protected groups (in particular the LGBT+ community) and those who, because of their religious beliefs, object to the full exercise of those rights is a matter ...

Equality before the law and entitlement to social welfare in Ireland in the case of refugees and Zambrano carers (Mel Cousins) (2018)

The Irish Court of Appeal (CA) has recently ruled that, in the case of an Irish citizen child, the requirement that to be entitled to universal child benefit the parent must have a right to ...

Tribunals must apply EU Law (C 378/17) (Mel Cousins) (2018)

In response to a reference from the Irish Supreme Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that tribunals adjudicating on disputes concerning the implementation of EU law (in this case ...

The Irish social protection response to COVID 19 - August UPDATE (Mel Cousins) (2020)

This note outlines briefly the response of the Irish social protection system to COVID-19 and sets out data for the numbers in receipt of the various payments.The response has consisted of two main actions:1) Illness ...

Much Ado About Nothing? International Law and the Interpretation of the European Convention of Human Rights in Social Security Cases (Mel Cousins) Journal of Social Security Law (2021)

This article focuses on the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in social security cases and seeks to establish the extent to which the Court has taken international law into account in its ...

Legitimate Expectation and Social Security Law Under the European Convention of Human Rights (Mel Cousins) European Journal of Social Security (2020)

The concept of ‘legitimate expectation’ is one which has developed to different degrees in thedomestic laws of contracting states of the Council of Europe. The European Court of Human Rights tends to use the term ...

Migrants’ Access to Social Protection in Ireland (Mel Cousins) Migration and Social Protection in Europe and Beyond (2020)

This chapter focuses on the link between migration and welfare in Ireland. The chapter has two main goals. First, it presents the general legal framework regulating the welfare system in Ireland, paying particular attention to ...

Equality and social welfare payments: Donnelly -v- The Minister for Social Protection (Mel Cousins) (2021)

The Supreme Court has (perhaps surprisingly) granted leave to appeal from the Court of Appeal’s decision in Donnelly v Minister for Social Protection. In that case, the Court of Appeal (CA) rejected a challenge to ...

Legal challenges to ‘vaccine pass’ requirements in France and the United States of America (Mel Cousins) (2021)

Just as the EU has introduced its Digital COVID Certificate and Ireland has introduced a requirement for indoor hospitality that adults are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 6 months, other ...

Disability payments for children in hospital: Donnelly -v- The Minister for Social Protection (Mel Cousins) (2018)

The UK Supreme Court (UKSC) has (in Mathieson) ruled that a rule which suspended payment of a disability payment in respect of a seriously ill child while that child was in hospital was in breach of ...

Equality before the law and entitlement to social welfare in Ireland in the case of refugees and Zambrano carers (Mel Cousins) (2018)

The Irish Court of Appeal (CA) has recently ruled that, in the case of an Irish citizen child, the requirement that to be entitled to universal child benefit the parent must have a right to ...

Irish Social Welfare Rulings in 2017 (Mel Cousins) (2018)

This paper looks at rulings of the Irish courts on social welfare issues in 2017. 2017 saw, in relative terms, a bumper crop of social welfare rulings with no less than 9 rulings on social ...

Tribunals must apply EU Law (C 378/17) (Mel Cousins) (2018)

In response to a reference from the Irish Supreme Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that tribunals adjudicating on disputes concerning the implementation of EU law (in this case ...

Rational basis with a vengeance in Kentucky - workers compensation offsets in Parker v Webster Co. Coal (Mel Cousins) (2017)

In Parker v Webster Co. Coal the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned long-standing precedent to find a workers compensation offset rule (KRS 342.730(4) to be unconstitutional and in breach of both the equal protection provision of the ...

Farm and ranch laborers, workers compensation and equal protection: Rodriguez v Brand West Dairy (Mel Cousins) Social law (2016)

In this interesting ruling, the Court of Appeals of New Mexico has held that the exclusion of farm and ranch laborers from workers’ compensation cover is in breach of the equal protection guarantee set out ...

Human rights, the Constitution and payment of old age pensions to persons in prison: P.C. v Minister for Social Protection (Mel Cousins) (2016)

In this case, the plaintiff challenged a provision of social welfare law which disallowed entitlement to a State Pension (formerly known as old age pension) while he was in prison. The relevant provision was challenged ...

Legislative intention, equal protection, and offset of workers compensation benefits in Kansas: Hoesli v Triplett (Mel Cousins) workers compensation (2016)

One issue which has received considerable attention in terms of equal protection challenges in US courts is that concerning the offset of social security retirement benefits with worker’s compensation payments. This note discusses a recent ...

Education and the Equal Status Acts - Stokes -v- Christian Brothers High School Clonmel (Mel Cousins) Dublin University Law Jounral (2015)

This case involved a challenge under the Equal Status Act (ESA) to the admissions rules of a Clonmel secondary school which, it was argued, indirectly discriminated against children from the Traveller community. At first instance ...

Pension ‘splitting’, property rights, equality and the Canadian Charter of Rights - Runchey v. Canada (Attorney General), 2013 FCA 16 (Mel Cousins) (2015)

This note discusses the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Runchey v. Canada (Attorney General). The case concerned an equality challenge concerning provisions of the Canada Pension Plan (the Plan) under s. 15 ...

Pregnancy as a ‘personal circumstance’? A case study of equality jurisprudence under the Canadian Charter of Rights (Mel Cousins) Canadian Journal of Human Rights (2015)

This article examines the recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Miceli-Riggins v Attorney General of Canada as an example of the approach which the Canadian courts are taking to the interpretation of ...