The claimant sought damages for false imprisonment. The mental health tribunal had ordered his release, but the respondent had delayed that release.
Held: False imprisonment is established on proof of imprisonment without lawful authority. An authority might commit both the tort of false imprisonment and infringe a patient’s human rights, but not all infringements of a patient’s article 5 rights would involve a breach of domestic law. It was not therefore possible to equate an infringement of article 5 with a domestic tort, and the section did not apply. The Mental Health Act should be read down so as not to protect authorities against breaches of the convention.
Judges:
Stanley Burton J
Citations:
Times 12-Mar-2003, [2003] EWHC 192 (Admin ), (2003) 6 CCL Rep 301
Links:
Statutes:
Mental Health Act 1983 139(1), European Convention on Human Rights 5 8
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Johnson v The United Kingdom ECHR 24-Oct-1997
Mr Johnson awaited trial for crimes of violence. He was diagnosed mentally ill, and on conviction made subject to a hospital order, and restricted without limit of time. He made progress, but was not discharged or re-classified. At a fourth tribunal . .
Dicta Doubted – Regina v Ealing District Health Authority, ex parte Fox 1993
A patient’s conditional discharge had been ordered by a tribunal. One of the conditions imposed by the tribunal was the appointment by the health authority of a responsible medical officer to provide psychiatric supervision of the patient in the . .
Cited – Regina v Mental Health Review Tribunal; Torfaen County Borough Council and Gwent Health Authority ex parte Hall Admn 23-Apr-1999
The tribunal had ordered the conditional discharge of the patient, subject to conditions to be satisfied by the local health authority. The authority had failed to make the arrangements which would have satisfied the relevant conditions, and as a . .
Cited – Regina (on the application of K) v Camden and Islington Health Authority CA 21-Feb-2001
The duty of a local authority to seek to provide resources to care for a mental patient after release into the community, is not absolute, and is subject to the limitations of the availability of a sufficient budget. A continued detention in . .
Cited – Regina (IH) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and Another CA 15-May-2002
The applicant was a restricted mental patient. His conditional release had been ordered, but required a consultant psychiatrist to be found who would agree to supervise him. None such could be found, and his detention continued. After two years he . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – W v Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council CA 6-May-2004
The claimant had been detained by the respondent under the Act. A trubunal had ordered his release subject to proper arrangements for his support in the community. In the absence of such arrangements being made, he complained at his continued . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other, Human Rights, Health
Updated: 03 November 2022; Ref: scu.179929