Isle of Man – the defendants appealed against their conviction for murder. The Board was asked whether, having regard to all the circumstances of the offence, including the fact of intoxication, the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt a murderous intent.
Held: The Board considered the status of decisions of English courts in the Isle of Man.
‘Decisions of English Courts, particularly decisions of the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal in England, are not binding on Manx Courts, but they are of high persuasive authority, as was correctly pointed out by Sir Iain Glidewell in giving the judgment of the Staff of Government Division, Criminal Jurisdiction. Such decisions should generally be followed unless either there is some provision to the contrary in a Manx statute or there is some clear decision of a Manx Court to the contrary, or, exceptionally, there is some local condition which would give good reason for not following the particular English decision. The persuasive effect of a judgment of the House of Lords, which has largely the same composition as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the final Court of Appeal from a Manx Court, is bound to be very high.’
Judges:
Lord Mackay of Clashfern, Lord Elwyn-Jones, Lord Ackner, Lord Oliver of Aylmerton, Lord Goff of Chieveley
Citations:
[1987] UKPC 3, [1987] UKPC 6
Links:
Commonwealth, Crime, Constitutional
Updated: 17 September 2022; Ref: scu.443449
