[JURIST] The UK Supreme Court [official website] ruled [judgment, PDF] Wednesday against the government in two cases that were challenging the government’s “bedroom tax.” The two decisions were in contrast to the other five cases that were decided in favor of the Department of Work and Pensions. The argument was that the new tax regulations put in place in 2013 created unfair discrimination against those with disabilities. It removed subsidies for social housing tenants whom the department determined to have “spare” rooms in their homes. The two cases that succeeded involved a woman who had spina bifida that needed a separate bedroom from her husband due to her condition and a child who needed an extra bedroom for an overnight caregiver. In his majority decision, Lord Toulson concluded that it was too broad to say that this new tax was discriminatory to all those with disabilities. Particular circumstances can create discriminatory practices and “there are some people who suffer from disabilities such that they have a transparent medical need for an additional bedroom.”

The UK, and the world, has faced issues with the rights of disabled persons. A UN report [JURIST report] released earlier this week condemned the UK for infringing on their rights with the welfare reforms of 2012. In August the US Department of Justice filed suit [JURIST report] against Georgia alleging that the state discriminates against students with behavior-related disabilities. Last year Human Rights Watch sent Moroccan officials a letter claiming that a draft framework law before the country’s parliament was in conflict with obligations [JURIST report] under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.