The defendant appealed his conviction of murder. The United Nations Human Rights Committee had expressed the view that he had not had a fair trial. The judge was said to have been brusque with him, and though a child, he had been held overnight at a police station.
Held: The appeal should be dismissed: ‘The question for their Lordships is whether the conduct of the judge was such as to cause a miscarriage of justice. Having examined the detail of the allegations made against him their Lordships are satisfied that while he might have exercised a greater degree of sensitivity in the delicate task of handling a witness of such tender years, the trial was not unfair nor did any miscarriage of justice occur. The judge gave a full and careful summing up of which no criticism has been made to their Lordships.’
Lord Goff of Chieveley, Lord Keith of Kinkel, Lord Mustill
Lord Hoffmann
Lord Clyde
[1996] UKPC 49
Bailii
England and Wales
Updated: 03 September 2021; Ref: scu.159208