The case concerns the eligibility to receive pension as a widow, in a case where the marriage has lasted less than the three-year threshold foreseen in the legislation. The applicant claimed that she had been unable to marry her partner for a significant period of time, in view of the fact that she was stateless. The Court of appeals found that since the cause of the applicant's husband's death could be regarded as an accident, his wife could be eligible to receive his pension, irrespective of the fact that their marriage had lasted for only 9 months.
Law 3863/2010, art. 12 para. 1
Following the death of her husband, nine months after their marriage, the applicant asked to receive his pension as a widow. The competent authority rejected her request, in view of the fact that their marriage had lasted less than three years, in accordance with the relevant legislation.
The applicant challenged that decision before the Administrative Court of First instance, which rejected the application.
The applicant had argued that in spite of the fact that she had been married for only nine months with her late husband, they lived in an unregistered partnership for 17 years, being unable to marry in view of legal obstacles, since she had been stateless since 1992, when she was deprived of her Uzbek nationality. The couple, in view of further other obstacles, could only get legally married in 2012, following her naturalization as a Greek national in 2010.
Moreover, the applicant stated that the death of her husband could be attributed to an accident, as the health situation that caused his death was completely unexpected - and, according to the relevant legislation, this rendered her eligible to receive the pension.
The first instance court, noted, inter alia, that even if it was accepted that the applicant had been stateless, it had not been established, based on the documentation submitted, that this was an obstacle for her and her husband's marriage.
The Court, following an interim decision ordering the submission of certain documents proving the cause of the death of the applicant’s husband, concluded that since that cause could be regarded as an accident, his wife could be eligible to receive his pension, irrespective of the fact that their marriage had lasted for only 9 months.
The court accepted the appeal against the decision of the first instance administrative court, and upon re-examination of the case, accepted the application.