Category: Human Rights

Beganovic v Croatia: ECHR 25 Jun 2009

The applicant had been assaulted by three individuals and coplained of the ineffectiveness of the police investigation.
Held: Though the court acknowledged that no direct responsibility can attach to a member state under ECHR for the acts of private individuals: ‘even in the absence of any direct responsibility for the acts of a private individual under article 3 of the Convention, State responsibility may nevertheless be engaged through the obligation imposed by article 1 of the Convention. In this connection the Court reiterates that the obligation on the High Contracting Parties under article 1 of the Convention to secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in the Convention, taken together with article 3, requires States to take measures designed to ensure that individuals within their jurisdiction are not subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including such ill-treatment administered by private individuals . . In order that a state may be held responsible it must . . be shown that the domestic legal system, and in particular the criminal law applicable in the circumstances of the case, fails to provide practical and effective protection of the rights guaranteed by article 3 . .’
‘The court made clear that, as well as examining the ‘impugned regulations and practices, and in particular the domestic authorities’ compliance with the relevant procedural rules’, it would also consider ‘the manner in which the criminal mechanisms were implemented in the instant case’.
The Court set out the ‘minimum standards applicable’ in respect of ‘the duty to investigate’. They included that the investigation be independent, impartial and subject to public scrutiny, and that the authorities act with diligence and promptness. It also reiterated that ‘for an investigation to be considered effective, the authorities must take whatever reasonable steps they can to secure the evidence concerning the incident, including, inter alia, a detailed statement concerning the allegations from the alleged victim, eyewitness testimony, forensic evidence and, where appropriate, additional medical reports’. The failings identified arose at the post-investigative stage and ECtHR confirmed the principle that the requirement for effective criminal law provisions extends to the trial phase of proceeding.
The ECtHR decided that the state authorities did not fulfil their positive obligations under article 3. Violation of that article was found. Compensation was awarded to the applicant. The various elements of an effective investigation identified by the court should be noted. It must be independent. It requires to be prompt. Evidence must be secured. Failure to adhere to these standards renders the state liable to the individual affected by that failure.

Citations:

46423/06, [2009] ECHR 992

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Cited by:

Cited – Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis v DSD and Another SC 21-Feb-2018
Two claimants had each been sexually assaulted by a later notorious, multiple rapist. Each had made complaints to police about their assaults but said that no effective steps had been taken to investigate the serious complaints.
Held: The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.347571

N v United Kingdom – Press Release: ECHR 26 Sep 2007

(Grand Chamber Hearing)

Citations:

[2007] ECHR 746

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Cited by:

Cited – Austin and Another v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis HL 28-Jan-2009
Movement retsriction was not Liberty Deprivation
The claimants had been present during a demonstration policed by the respondent. They appealed against dismissal of their claims for false imprisonment having been prevented from leaving Oxford Circus for over seven hours. The claimants appealed . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.276369

Hamza and Others v Secretary of State for The Home Department: Admn 5 Oct 2012

‘Each of the five claimants is the subject of an extradition request issued by the Government of the United States of America in order that each of them may stand trial in that country for terrorism related offences. Each has brought separate claims for judicial review and for stays of their extradition, raising different issues in each case, except for an issue common to four of them relating to the prison conditions they would experience at ADX Florence, Colorado.’

Judges:

Sir John Thomas P QBD

Citations:

[2012] EWHC 2736 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Extradition, Human Rights, Prisons

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.465462

Cowl and others v Plymouth City Council: Admn 14 Sep 2001

The applicants were residents of a nursing home run by the respondents, and sought judicial review of the decision to close it. Before making the decision, the council consulted the residents and concluded that none had been offered a ‘home for life’. Though some understood this, the council argued that no promise had been given, or legitimate expectation had been created.
Held: Such an expectation requires a firm clear and sound foundation. None had been shown. Nor could it be shown that any of the residents had relied upon any representation. The council had to inform the residents well in advance, allow a reasonable time for objections and consider any resident’s objection. It must also follow the statutory uidance. The court rejected the suggestion that the residents had come to constitute a family, and that closure would interfere with the rights of that family under Articles 2,3 or 8.

Judges:

Scott Baker J

Citations:

[2001] EWHC Admin 734

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 7(1), European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Jockey Club ex parte R A M Racecourses Ltd 1993
For there to be a breach of procedural fairness giving rise to a legitimate expectation, there must be shown ‘a clear and unambiguus representation.’ . .
Approved – Regina v Devon County Council Ex Parte Baker, Regina v Durham County Council Ex Parte Broxson CA 22-Feb-1993
A Local Authority considering closing a residential home did not have a duty to notify and consult with each resident who might be affected, but did have a duty to act fairly, and to give sufficiently prominent notice and sufficient time to allow . .
Cited – Regina v North and East Devon Health Authority ex parte Coughlan Admn 11-Dec-1998
There had been no transfer to Social Service Authorities of the Health Services’ statutory duty to provide specialist nursing and related care to the elderly, and having made a promise to provide a home for life, the Health Authority would be held . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Cowl and Others v Plymouth City Council CA 14-Dec-2001
It remains of overriding importance for parties to seek to avoid litigation wherever possible. In this case, a dispute between a local authority and some of the inhabitants of one of its residential homes. The courts now have ample power within the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Local Government, Human Rights

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.166590

C Munjaz v United Kingdom: ECHR 20 Mar 2008

The applicant complained of his seclusion whilst being detaned at a secure mental hospital.
Held: The court referred several questions back to the parties to be answered.

Citations:

32913/06, [2008] ECHR 215

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Citing:

First case – Regina v Ashworth Special Hospital Trust, ex parte Munjaz 10-Oct-2000
The claimant was detained iin a secure mental hospital. He complained of being held in seclusion for a long period, and as to the hospital’s policy.
Held: The hospital’s policy, by reducing the frequency of review of a patient’s seclusion . .
2nd case – Regina v Ashworth Hospital Authority, Ex parte Munjaz (No 2) Admn 5-Jul-2002
The court dismissed the claimant’s complaint that the seclusion policies operated at Ashworth Special Hospital infringed his human rights. The Special Hospitals operated policies for seclusion which differed from the Code of Practice laid down under . .
At Court of Appeal – Munjaz v Mersey Care National Health Service Trust And the Secretary of State for Health, the National Association for Mental Health (Mind) Respondent interested; CA 16-Jul-2003
The claimant was a mental patient under compulsory detention, and complained that he had been subjected to periods of seclusion.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The hospital had failed to follow the appropriate Code of Practice. The Code was not . .
At House of Lords – Regina v Ashworth Hospital Authority (Now Mersey Care National Health Service Trust) ex parte Munjaz HL 13-Oct-2005
The claimant was detained in a secure Mental Hospital. He complained at the seclusions policy applied by the hospital, saying that it departed from the Guidance issued for such policies by the Secretary of State under the Act.
Held: The House . .

Cited by:

Cited – Munjaz v The United Kingdom ECHR 17-Jul-2012
The applicant was detained in a secure mental hospital. He complained that he had been held in seclusion.
Held: The complaints under articles 5 and 8 were admissible, but there had been no violation of the applicant’s rights in these . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.266273

Miranda, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department and Another: Admn 23 Aug 2013

‘This case concerns the exercise of the extensive powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 and the detention of material in the possession of a person assisting a journalist and possibly identifying journalistic sources. The protection of journalistic sources has been stated to be of vital importance to press freedom, both in our domestic law and in the Strasbourg court: see, for example, Section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the decisions of this court’

Judges:

Beatson LJ, Kenneth Parker J

Citations:

[2013] EWHC 2609 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Terrorism Act 2000, Contempt of Court Act 1981 10

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 12-Nov-2014
The claimant had supported the grant of a visa to a woman in order to speak to members of Parliament who was de facto leader of an Iranian organsation which had in the past supported terrorism and had been proscribed in the UK, but that proscription . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Media, Crime

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.514946

Regina (on the application of Baram etc) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Admn 7 Sep 2001

Asylum seekers had been detained on arrival in the UK, and then released. They challenged the propriety of the detention. The policy was that detention was appropriate where entry had been achieved through breach of immigration control, and did not depend upon whether the detainee might abscond. It appeared that the system worked for the administrative convenience of making speedy decisions, and not because he has done anything which might usually be considered as a justification for depriving him of his liberty. None of the detainees had been told why they were being held, and misleading reasons for detention were recorded. The detention required justification under article 5 of the Convention. It would be artificial to suggest that detention was for the purposes of art 5(1)(f), and the detention was unlawful. To be lawful, detention must be justified for each individual under Article 5.1(f).

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Immigration Act 1971 Sch 2

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v A Special Adjudicator and Secretary of State for Home Department ex parte B Admn 17-Dec-1997
Kay J referred to the Secretary of State’s policy documents on the detention and removal of failed asylum seekers and emphasised the need for a careful reappraisal by the Secretary of State in the light of changing circumstances. . .
Cited – Tan Te Lam v Superintendent of Tai A Chau Detention Centre PC 27-Mar-1996
(Hong Kong) Migrants from Vietnam of Chinese ethnic origin had landed in Hong Kong by boat, and been refused refugee status. They were detained for several years under section 13D of the Immigration Ordinance ‘pending . . removal from Hong Kong’. . .
Appealed to – Secretary of State for the Home Department v Saadi, Maged, Osman, Mohammed CA 19-Oct-2001
The Secretary appealed against a decision that the detention of certain asylum applicants was unlawful. The detention was for a limited period, but he had put forward no reason for the detentions of the individuals.
Held: The Act authorised . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Secretary of State for the Home Department v Saadi, Maged, Osman, Mohammed CA 19-Oct-2001
The Secretary appealed against a decision that the detention of certain asylum applicants was unlawful. The detention was for a limited period, but he had put forward no reason for the detentions of the individuals.
Held: The Act authorised . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Immigration, Human Rights

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.166281

Countryside Alliance and others v HM Attorney General and others: Admn 29 Jul 2005

The various claimants sought to challenge the 2004 Act by way of judicial review on the grounds that it was ‘a disproportionate, unnecessary and illegitimate interference with their rights to choose how they conduct their lives, and with market freedoms protected by European law; and an unjust interference with economic rights.’
Held: ‘We have concluded that it was within the rational, proportionate and democratic competence of Parliament to make this enactment and that the court should not intervene. Our route to that conclusion has to pick its way through a mass of dense undergrowth cultivated by human rights and European legislation and jurisprudence. It is often hard to see the overgrown wood for the trees. We acknowledge that some of our intermediate judgments are more finely balanced than others, but that does not, in our view, apply to the main conclusion.’

Judges:

May LJ, Moses J

Citations:

[2006] EuLR 178, [2005] EWHC 1677 (Admin), Times 03-Aug-2005

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Hunting Act 2004

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Bruggeman and Scheuten v Federal Republic of Germany ECHR 12-Jul-1977
(Commission) The applicants complained at restrictions on the termination of unwanted pregnancies.
Held: Article 8(1) secures to the individual a sphere within which he can freely pursue the development and fulfilment of his personality. He . .
Cited – Regina on the Application of Jackson and others v HM Attorney General CA 16-Feb-2005
The applicant asserted that the 2004 Act was invalid having been passed under the procedure in the 1949 Act, reducing the period by which the House of Lords could delay legislation; the 1949 Act was invalid, being delegated legislation, had used the . .
Cited – Peck v The United Kingdom ECHR 28-Jan-2003
peck_ukECHR2003
The claimant had been filmed by CCTV. He had, after attempting suicide, left home with a knife, been arrested by the police and disarmed, but then sent home without charge. The CCTV film was used on several occasions to advertise the effectiveness . .
Cited – Amministrazione Delle Finanze Dello Stato v Simmenthal SpA (No 2) ECJ 9-Mar-1978
ECJ The Court of Justice considered a reference for a preliminary ruling, pursuant to article 1977 of the Treaty, as having been validly brought before it so long as the reference has not been withdrawn by the . .
Cited – Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart HL 26-Nov-1992
Reference to Parliamentary Papers behind Statute
The inspector sought to tax the benefits in kind received by teachers at a private school in having their children educated at the school for free. Having agreed this was a taxable emolument, it was argued as to whether the taxable benefit was the . .
Cited – Pretty v The United Kingdom ECHR 29-Apr-2002
Right to Life Did Not include Right to Death
The applicant was paralysed and suffered a degenerative condition. She wanted her husband to be allowed to assist her suicide by accompanying her to Switzerland. English law would not excuse such behaviour. She argued that the right to die is not . .
Cited – Marckx v Belgium ECHR 13-Jun-1979
Recognition of illegitimate children
The complaint related to the manner in which parents were required to adopt their own illegitimate child in order to increase his rights. Under Belgian law, no legal bond between an unmarried mother and her child results from the mere fact of birth. . .
Cited – Prebble v Television New Zealand Ltd PC 27-Jun-1994
(New Zealand) The plaintiff, an MP, pursued a defamation case. The defendant wished to argue for the truth of what was said, and sought to base his argument on things said in Parliament. The plaintiff responded that this would be a breach of . .
Cited – Regina v Sectretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Razgar etc HL 17-Jun-2004
The claimant resisted removal after failure of his claim for asylum, saying that this would have serious adverse consequences to his mental health, infringing his rights under article 8. He appealed the respondent’s certificate that his claim was . .
Cited – London Borough of Harrow v Qazi HL 31-Jul-2003
The applicant had held a joint tenancy of the respondent. His partner gave notice and left, and the property was taken into possession. The claimant claimed restoration of his tenancy saying the order did not respect his right to a private life and . .
Cited – PG and JH v The United Kingdom ECHR 25-Sep-2001
The use of covert listening devices within a police station was an infringement of the right to privacy, since there was no system of law regulating such practices. That need not affect the right to a fair trial. The prosecution had a duty to . .
Cited – Botta v Italy ECHR 24-Feb-1998
The claimant, who was disabled, said that his Article 8 rights were infringed because, in breach of Italian law, there were no facilities to enable him to get to the sea when he went on holiday.
Held: ‘Private life . . includes a person’s . .
Cited – Chassagnou and Others v France ECHR 29-Apr-1999
A law permitted local authorities to oblige landowners to transfer hunting rights over private land to approved hunting associations. The landowners could not prevent hunting on their property. Landowners so affected were made members automatically . .
Cited – Mark Smith v David Probyn, PGA European Tour Ltd QBD 25-Feb-2000
The claimant had served proceedings on a representative without first checking that they had authority to accept service. This was discovered too late, and applied for an extension of time for service. The application was refused. The requirement to . .
Cited – Halford v The United Kingdom ECHR 25-Jun-1997
halford_ukECHR1997
The interception of the telephone calls of an employee in a private exchange was a breach of her right of privacy. She had a reasonable expectation of privacy. The police force’s surveillances of the applicant’s telephone (to obtain information . .
Cited – Bullock v United Kingdom ECHR 1996
The keeping of a pet does not fall within the sphere of the owner’s private or family life for the purposes of Article 8. . .
Cited – Sidabras and Dziautas v Lithuania ECHR 27-Jul-2004
Former KGB officers had been banned from employment in a range of public and private sector jobs, including as lawyers, notaries, bank employees and in the teaching profession. They complained of infringement of Article 8 taken alone and also in . .
Cited – Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd (MGN) (No 1) HL 6-May-2004
The claimant appealed against the denial of her claim that the defendant had infringed her right to respect for her private life. She was a model who had proclaimed publicly that she did not take drugs, but the defendant had published a story . .
Cited – G and E v Norway ECHR 3-Oct-1983
The court considered the protection to be given to native peoples such as the Saami of Northern Norway. . .
Cited – Niemietz v Germany ECHR 16-Dec-1992
A lawyer complained that a search of his offices was an interference with his private life.
Held: In construing the term ‘private life’, ‘it would be too restrictive to limit the notion of an ‘inner circle’ in which the individual may live his . .
Cited – Costello-Roberts v The United Kingdom ECHR 25-Mar-1993
‘Slippering’, a punishment by hitting a child with a slipper, when used as part of school discipline was not a degrading punishment under the convention. Conduct must attain a minimum level of severity to engage the operation of the Convention. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Malik, Regina (on the Application of) v Waltham Forest PCT and Secretary of State for Health Admn 17-Mar-2006
The doctor had been suspended on full pay whilst allegations against him were investigated. He claimed that the suspension infringed his human rights and that his licence to practice was a possession.
Held: At the disciplinary proceedings: . .
Cited – Wright and Others, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Health Secretary of State for Education and Skills Admn 16-Nov-2006
The various applicants sought judicial review of the operation of the Protection of Vulnerable Adults List insofar as they had been placed provisionally on the list, preventing them from finding work. One complaint was that the list had operated . .
Appeal From – Countryside Alliance and Others, Regina (on the Application of) v Attorney General Another, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs CA 23-Jun-2006
The claimants sought to challenge the validity of the 2004 Act under human rights law and on European law grounds. A variety of effects of the Act were alleged. It was said that it would prevent landowners enjoying their own land, and that the Act . .
At First Instance – Countryside Alliance and others, Regina (on the Application of) v Attorney General and Another HL 28-Nov-2007
The appellants said that the 2004 Act infringed their rights under articles 8 11 and 14 and Art 1 of protocol 1.
Held: Article 8 protected the right to private and family life. Its purpose was to protect individuals from unjustified intrusion . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Constitutional, European, Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.229153

Regina v Ashworth Hospital Authority, Ex parte Munjaz (No 2): Admn 5 Jul 2002

The court dismissed the claimant’s complaint that the seclusion policies operated at Ashworth Special Hospital infringed his human rights. The Special Hospitals operated policies for seclusion which differed from the Code of Practice laid down under the Act.
Held: The claim was dismissed. Any seclusion had been of such a short duration as not to give rise to an infringement of the patient’s rights. A departure from the Code did not imply a necessary infringement, since the Code was for guidance only.
As to the alleged infringement of his article 3 and article 8 rights, the minimum level of severity required for Article 3 was not met and there was no breach of Article 8. It also found that the Code of Practice was merely guidance. The Court accepted evidence that the applicant had not remained in seclusion for longer than had been necessary, and that there was no evidence that more frequent reviews would have reduced the time spent in seclusion.
The applicant was detained at Ashworth secure mental hospital. He challenged the lawfulness of the policy implemented for secuded detentions.
Held: The Code fell within (1)(b) but not (1)(a).

Judges:

Sullivan J

Citations:

[2002] EWHC (Admin) 1521

Statutes:

Mental Health Act 1983 47 49, European Convention on Human Rights 3 8

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Regina v Ashworth Special Hospital Trust, ex parte Munjaz 10-Oct-2000
The claimant was detained iin a secure mental hospital. He complained of being held in seclusion for a long period, and as to the hospital’s policy.
Held: The hospital’s policy, by reducing the frequency of review of a patient’s seclusion . .

Cited by:

Cited – S v Airedale National Health Service Trust QBD 22-Aug-2002
The patient had been detained, and then secluded within the mental hospital for 11 days. He claimed to have been subjected to inhuman treatment, and false imprisonment.
Held: His claim failed. The policy allowed the authority to confine him to . .
At First Instance – Regina v Ashworth Hospital Authority (Now Mersey Care National Health Service Trust) ex parte Munjaz HL 13-Oct-2005
The claimant was detained in a secure Mental Hospital. He complained at the seclusions policy applied by the hospital, saying that it departed from the Guidance issued for such policies by the Secretary of State under the Act.
Held: The House . .
Appeal from – Munjaz v Mersey Care National Health Service Trust And the Secretary of State for Health, the National Association for Mental Health (Mind) Respondent interested; CA 16-Jul-2003
The claimant was a mental patient under compulsory detention, and complained that he had been subjected to periods of seclusion.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The hospital had failed to follow the appropriate Code of Practice. The Code was not . .
2nd case – C Munjaz v United Kingdom ECHR 20-Mar-2008
The applicant complained of his seclusion whilst being detaned at a secure mental hospital.
Held: The court referred several questions back to the parties to be answered. . .
Second Case – Munjaz v The United Kingdom ECHR 17-Jul-2012
The applicant was detained in a secure mental hospital. He complained that he had been held in seclusion.
Held: The complaints under articles 5 and 8 were admissible, but there had been no violation of the applicant’s rights in these . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Health, Human Rights, Health, Prisons, Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.182189

Aka v Turkey: ECHR 23 Sep 1998

Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion); Violation of P1-1; Pecuniary damage – financial award; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award; Costs and expenses – claim rejected

Citations:

19639/92, [1998] ECHR 86

Links:

Worldlii, Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.165678

Niemietz v Germany: ECHR 16 Dec 1992

A lawyer complained that a search of his offices was an interference with his private life.
Held: In construing the term ‘private life’, ‘it would be too restrictive to limit the notion of an ‘inner circle’ in which the individual may live his own personal life as he chooses and to exclude therefrom entirely the outside world not encompassed within that circle. Respect for private life must also comprise to a certain degree the right to establish and develop relationships with other human beings.’ Article 8 should not be construed as necessarily excluding business activities. It protects the right to personal development, and the right to establish and develop relationships with other human beings, including relationships at work: ‘it is, after all, in the course of their working lives that the majority of people have a significant, if not the greatest, opportunity of developing relationships with the outside world’

Judges:

Ryssdal, P

Citations:

13710/88, [1992] 16 EHRR 97, [1992] ECHR 80

Links:

Worldlii, Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights 8

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Cited by:

Cited – Pay v Lancashire Probation Service EAT 29-Oct-2003
The appellant challenged refusal of his claim for unfair dismissal. A probation officer, he had business interests in fire breathing and bondage merchandising which the service said were incompatible with his duties, and dismissed him. He complained . .
Cited – Countryside Alliance and others v HM Attorney General and others Admn 29-Jul-2005
The various claimants sought to challenge the 2004 Act by way of judicial review on the grounds that it was ‘a disproportionate, unnecessary and illegitimate interference with their rights to choose how they conduct their lives, and with market . .
Cited – Wilkinson v Kitzinger and others FD 31-Jul-2006
The parties had gone through a ceremony of marriage in Columbia, being both women. After the relationship failed, the claimant sought a declaration that the witholding of the recognition of same-sex marriages recoginised in a foreign jurisdiction . .
Cited – Lord Browne of Madingley v Associated Newspapers Ltd CA 3-Apr-2007
The appellant sought to restrict publication by the defendants in the Mail on Sunday of matters which he said were a breach of confidence. He had lied to a court in giving evidence, whilst at the same time being ready to trash the reputation of his . .
Cited – Brown v HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, the Executors of the Estate of and others FD 5-Jul-2007
The plaintiff sought the unsealing of the wills of the late Queen Mother and of the late Princess Margaret, claiming that these would assist him establishing that he was the illegitimate son of the latter.
Held: The application was frivolous. . .
Cited – Hafner and Hochstrasser (A Firm), Regina (on the Application of) v Australian Securities and Investments Commission Admn 5-Mar-2008
The Commission renewed its application for a review of a decision on their request for judicial assistance in obtaining evidence from the firm. The firm had produced confidential documents to the court, and not disclosed to the Commission.
Cited – L v L and Hughes Fowler Carruthers QBD 1-Feb-2007
The parties were engaged in ancillary relief proceedings. The Husband complained that the wife had sought to use unlawfully obtained information, and in these proceedings sought delivery up of the material from the wife and her solicitors. He said . .
Cited – G, Regina (on the Application of) v Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust Admn 20-May-2008
The applicants were detained at Rampton. The form of detention denied the access to space in which they would be able to smoke cigarettes to comply with the law.
Held: The claim failed. The legislative objectives were sufficiently serious to . .
Cited – Countryside Alliance and others, Regina (on the Application of) v Attorney General and Another HL 28-Nov-2007
The appellants said that the 2004 Act infringed their rights under articles 8 11 and 14 and Art 1 of protocol 1.
Held: Article 8 protected the right to private and family life. Its purpose was to protect individuals from unjustified intrusion . .
Cited – L, Regina (On the Application of) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis SC 29-Oct-2009
Rebalancing of Enhanced Disclosure Requirements
The Court was asked as to the practice of supplying enhanced criminal record certificates under the 1997 Act. It was said that the release of reports of suspicions was a disproportionate interference in the claimants article 8 rights to a private . .
Cited – Doctor A and Others v Ward and Another FD 8-Jan-2010
Parents wished to publicise the way care proceedings had been handled, naming the doctors, social workers and experts some of whom had been criticised. Their names had been shown as initials so far, and interim contra mundum orders had been made . .
Cited – KJO v XIM QBD 7-Jul-2011
The claimant had, some 20 years previously, been convicted and sentenced for forgery of a will. The defendants, relatives, had ever since written to those with whom he had dealings to tell them of the conviction and facts. The claimant, unable to . .
Cited – Gillberg v Sweden ECHR 3-Apr-2012
(Grand Chamber) The applicant, a consultant psychiatrist, had conducted research with children under undertakings of absolute privacy. Several years later a researcher, for proper reasons, obtained court orders for the disclosure of the data under . .
Cited – JR38, Re Application for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) SC 1-Jul-2015
The appellant was now 18 years old. In July 2010 two newspapers published an image of him. He was at that time barely 14 years old. These photographs had been published by the newspapers at the request of the police. The publication of the . .
Cited – McCann v The State Hospitals Board for Scotland SC 11-Apr-2017
A challenge by request for judicial review to the legality of the comprehensive ban on smoking at the State Hospital at Carstairs which the State Hospitals Board adopted. The appellant, a detained patient, did not challenge the ban on smoking . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Legal Professions

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.165239

QSA and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v National Police Chiefs’ Council and Another: Admn 12 Feb 2021

The three Claimant were each convicted in the 1980s and 1990s of offences of loitering in a street or public place for the purposes of prostitution. Pursuant to a policy of the First Defendant, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, those convictions are recorded on the Police National Computer and will remain so recorded until the Claimants are one hundred years old. Having ceased prostitution, the Claimants claim that that policy is unlawful, since it interferes with their rights under Article 8 ECHR, is not in accordance with the law, and is disproportionate.

Judges:

Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Garnham

Citations:

[2021] EWHC 272 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police, Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.658124

Bitto and Others v Slovakia: ECHR 7 Jul 2015

Just satisfaction

Citations:

[2015] ECHR 667

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Citing:

GC Summary – Bitto And Others v Slovakia ECHR 28-Jan-2014
ECHR Article 46-2 – Execution of judgment – Measures of a general character – Respondent State required to introduce compensatory remedy to provide effective relief for breach of property rights of . .
Grand Chamber – Bitto and Others v Slovakia (3rd Ch) ECHR 28-Jan-2014
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.641224

Vefa Serdar v Turkey: ECHR 27 Jan 2015

Relying on Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention, the applicant complained in particular the use of disproportionate force against him and abuse during and after the riot operation launched in Canakkale prison.
He also argued that the criminal proceedings in this regard against members of the security forces had disregarded the need for speed and fairness enshrined in Article 6-1 and 3 b) and that, contrary to Article 13 had not received effective way of law to argue their grievances.

Judges:

Guido Raimondi, P

Citations:

7309/04 – Chamber Judgment, [2015] ECHR 85

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Human Rights, Prisons

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.541942

Belhadj and Others v The Security Service, SIS, GCHQ, Home Office and FCO: IPT 7 Feb 2014

The Tribunal considered the Complainants’ application for interim relief in their case before it in the light of undertakings given by the Respondents. It also gave preliminary consideration to appropriate practice to be followed in the event a Closed hearing was requested by the Respondents.

Judges:

Burton J P, Seabrook QC, Flint QC

Citations:

[2014] UKIPTrib 13 – 132-9H

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 68(4)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

See Also – Belhadj and Others v Security Service and Others (Including Determination) IPT 29-Apr-2015
The court considered the methods used for collection of information by the security services, and gave the following guidance: ‘(i) Whether in fact there has been, prior to 18 November 2014, soliciting, receiving, storing and transmitting by UK . .
Cited – Liberty (The National Council of Civil Liberties) and Others v The Government Communications Headquarters and Others IPT 22-Jun-2015
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.525979

Pelckmans Turnhout v Walter Van Gastel Balen NV: ECJ 8 May 2014

ECJ Reference for a preliminary ruling – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Principles of equality and non-discrimination – Implementation of EU law – Scope of application of EU law – None – Lack of jurisdiction of the Court

Judges:

A Tizzano

Citations:

C-483/12, [2014] EUECJ C-483/12

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

European

Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.525448

Bitto and Others v Slovakia (3rd Ch): ECHR 28 Jan 2014

Judges:

Josep Casadevall, P

Citations:

30255/09 – Chamber Judgment, [2014] ECHR 79

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Citing:

GC Summary – Bitto And Others v Slovakia ECHR 28-Jan-2014
ECHR Article 46-2 – Execution of judgment – Measures of a general character – Respondent State required to introduce compensatory remedy to provide effective relief for breach of property rights of . .

Cited by:

Grand Chamber – Bitto and Others v Slovakia ECHR 7-Jul-2015
Just satisfaction . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.520782

Bitto And Others v Slovakia: ECHR 28 Jan 2014

ECHR Article 46-2 – Execution of judgment – Measures of a general character – Respondent State required to introduce compensatory remedy to provide effective relief for breach of property rights of rent-controlled flat owners
Facts – The applicants were 21 owners or co-owners of residential buildings in Bratislava and Trnava to which a rent-control scheme applied pursuant to the Price Act 1996 and other relevant legislation. As a consequence, they were prevented from freely negotiating levels of rent for their flats and the termination of the lease of their flats was conditional on providing the tenants with adequate alternative accommodation. The Government had dealt with the issue of rent control on several occasions. For example, Law no. 260/2011 had re-defined the conditions of implementation of the rent-control scheme and set limits on its maximum duration. In their application to the Court, the applicants complained that the rent to which they were entitled for letting their property did not cover the costs of maintaining their properties and was disproportionately low compared with similar flats to which the rent-control scheme did not apply.
Law – Article 1 of Protocol No. 1: The legislation governing the rent control-scheme amounted to a lawful interference with the applicants’ rights which pursued a legitimate social-policy aim. The control of use of the applicants’ properties had therefore been ‘in accordance with the general interest’ as required by the second paragraph of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. As to the proportionality of the interference, the Court first observed that, in the context in which the rent control-scheme had been introduced, the decision as to how best to reconcile the competing interests at stake involved complex social, economic and political issues which domestic authorities were best placed to know and assess. In this regard, although both governmental policy and legislative amendments planned to gradually increase the maximum rent chargeable and, at a later stage, set a framework and time-limit for its termination, it nevertheless appeared that the rental market in the respondent State remained underdeveloped and that there had been shortcomings in pursuing the proclaimed policy. As for the actual impact of the rent-control scheme, the only information available to the Court in this respect concerned the difference between the maximum rent permissible under the scheme and the market rental value of the flats. That information indicated that, despite several increases after 2000, the amount of controlled rent which the applicants were entitled to charge remained considerably lower than the rent for similar housing in respect of which the rent control scheme did not apply. The interests of the applicants, ‘including their entitlement to derive profit from their property’, had therefore not been met. In this context, the legitimate interests of the community called for a fair distribution of the social and financial burden involved in the transformation and reform of the country’s housing supply. This burden could not be placed on one particular social group, however important the interests of the other group or the community as a whole might be. In the light of these considerations, the Court concluded that the Slovak authorities had failed to strike the requisite fair balance between the general interests of the community and the protection of the applicants’ right of property.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously). Article 41: reserved. Article 46: The Court’ noted that, whilst the respondent State had taken measures with a view to gradually improving the situation of landlords, the measures provided for a complete elimination of the effects on rent-controlled flat owners only from 2017 and did not address the situation existing prior to their adoption. The Court therefore invited the respondent State to introduce, as soon as possible, a specific and clearly regulated compensatory remedy in order to provide genuine effective relief for the breach found.

Citations:

30255/09 – Legal Summary, [2014] ECHR 172

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Cited by:

GC Summary – Bitto and Others v Slovakia (3rd Ch) ECHR 28-Jan-2014
. .
GC Summary – Bitto and Others v Slovakia ECHR 7-Jul-2015
Just satisfaction . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.521849

SN v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SCS 14 Jan 2014

Extra Division, Inner House –

Judges:

Lady Clark of Calton

Citations:

[2014] ScotCS CSIH – 7, 2014 SLT 905, [2014] CSIH 71, 2014 GWD 27-534

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights 2 3 8, Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 94(3)

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Cited by:

Extra Div Inner House – McCann v The State Hospitals Board for Scotland SC 11-Apr-2017
A challenge by request for judicial review to the legality of the comprehensive ban on smoking at the State Hospital at Carstairs which the State Hospitals Board adopted. The appellant, a detained patient, did not challenge the ban on smoking . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Immigration, Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.520018

AM (Somalia) v Entry Clearance Officer: CA 1 Jul 2009

The appellant had married in Somalia. His wife lived in London and sought permission for him to enter, she acting as his sponsor. The Immigration judge had found that they met all the criteria save one, that they would be able to support themselves other than by recourse to public funds. The wife was a qualified accountant, but disabled and not in work. They argued that the fact of disability required a greater justification under Human Rights Law before such a treatment.
Held: The claim failed. Elias LJ said: ‘[l]ike cases should be treated alike, and different cases treated differently. This is perhaps the most fundamental principle of justice’
‘It may well be that where a state treats a disabled person differently by reason of his disability – in domestic terms, a case of direct discrimination – it may be necessary for any justification in relation to Article 14 to be supported by particularly weighty reasons. However, as Miss Giovanetti points out, there is no Strasbourg authority which has applied that approach to justification of the equal application of a uniform rule or where an individual is contending for a right to more favourable treatment. In my judgment, it would not be appropriate for us to initiate such an approach.’

Judges:

Mummery, Maurice Kay, Elias LJJ

Citations:

[2009] EWCA Civ 634, [2009] UKHRR 1073

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Immigration Rules 281, European Convention on Human Rights 8

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Thlimmenos v Greece ECHR 6-Apr-2000
(Grand Chamber) The applicant was a Jehovah’s Witness who had been convicted of insubordination under the Military Criminal Code for refusing to wear a military uniform at a time of general mobilisation. He was subsequently refused appointment as a . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Mahad (Previously referred to as AM) (Ethiopia) v Entry Clearance Officer SC 16-Dec-2009
The claimants each sought entry to be with members of their family already settled here. The Court was asked whether the new Immigration Rules imposed a requirement which permitted third party support by someone other than the nominated sponsor.
Cited – MA and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Others QBD 30-Jul-2013
Ten disabled claimants challenged the changes to the 2006 Regulations introduced by the 2012 Regulations. The changes restricted the ability to claim Housing Benefit for bedrooms deemed extra. The claimants said that in their different ways each had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Immigration, Human Rights, Discrimination

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.347296

London and Quadrant Housing Trust v Weaver, Regina; Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening: CA 18 Jun 2009

The Trust appealed against a finding that in terminating an assured tenancy transferred to it from a local authority, it had acted as a hybrid public authority and was subject to controls under the 1998 Act.
Held: (Rix LJ dissenting). The appeal failed. When dealing with social tenants, the trust exercised a public law function. This was not limted to properties purchased with public funds, but was limited to social tenants. It did not extend to ordinary tenants paying market rate rents.

Judges:

Lord Justice Rix, Lord Collins of Mapesbury and Lord Justice Elias

Citations:

[2009] EWCA Civ 587, Times 26-Aug-2009, [2010] 1 WLR 363, [2009] WLR (D) 202

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Statutes:

Human Rights Act 1998

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Weaver, Regina (on the Application of) v London and Quadrant Housing Trust Admn 24-Jun-2008
An assured tenant sought to challenge a possession order made for rent arrears. He said that as a public body the landlord had a duty under human rights law to pursue all posssible alternate solutions before seeking possession.
Held: The . .
Leave to appeal – Weaver v London Quadrant Housing Trust CA 17-Feb-2009
The respondent sought leave to appeal against a finding that as a registered social landlord it was exercising a public function and was a hybrid public authority.
Held: Leave was granted. A protective costs order was made for the respondent . .

Cited by:

Cited – Smith, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Defence and Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) SC 30-Jun-2010
The deceased soldier died of heat exhaustion whilst on active service in Iraq. It was said that he was owed a duty under human rights laws, and that any coroner’s inquest should be a fuller one to satisfy the state’s duty under Article 2.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Housing, Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.347112

Bewry, Regina (On the Application of) v Norwich City Council: Admn 31 Jul 2001

The claimant had sought housing benefits, but his claim was rejected by the respondents who said that he was not liable to make the payments. He argued that the decision was not made by an impartial tribunal since it was held by councillors from the authority which would benefit financially from the refusal of the claim.
Held: The claim succeeded: ‘ the claimant was deprived of his common law right to a determination of his entitlement to housing benefit by an independent tribunal.’

Judges:

Moses J

Citations:

[2001] EWHC Admin 657, [2002] HRLR 2

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights, Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 81

Benefits, Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.347086

Simeon Szypusz v The United Kingdom: ECHR 2 Jun 2009

Citations:

8400/07, [2009] ECHR 908

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Cited by:

Cited – Simeon Szypusz v The United Kingdom ECHR 21-Sep-2010
The applicant, relied on Article 6-1 of the Convention, to allege that he had not had a fair trial as there were insufficient guarantees to exclude legitimate doubt regarding the independence and impartiality of the tribunal which tried him on . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.347006