Habeas Corpus Granted to Slave
Somerset, a slave purchased by the defendant in Virginia, had been brought to England, but then confined on board a ship. He brought a writ for habeas corpus.
Held: The plea in defence was insufficient. Lord Mansfield ordered an African slave to be freed upon finding the custodian’s return insufficient. At common law a petitioner’s status as an alien was not a categorical bar to habeas corpus relief, and the common law recognised no status of slave, though some colonies might.
Lord Mansfield held that ‘The state of slavery is of such a nature, that it is incapable of being introduced on any reasons, moral or political’. ‘Chattel slavery’ as ‘ ‘full ownership of another human being’ had been unlawful under Imperial legislation dating back to colonial times.
Lord Mansfield, Lord Holt
(1772) 20 StTr 1, [1772] EngR 57, (1772) Lofft 1, (1772) 98 ER 499, (1772) 20 How St Tr 1
Commonlii
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Khera v Secretary of State for The Home Department; Khawaja v Secretary of State for The Home Department HL 10-Feb-1983
The appellant Khera’s father had obtained leave to settle in the UK. The appellant obtained leave to join him, but did not disclose that he had married. After his entry his wife in turn sought to join him. The appellant was detained as an illegal . .
Cited – SK, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department Admn 25-Jan-2008
The claimant was a Zimbabwean National who was to be removed from the country. He was unlawfully held in detention pending removal. He sought damages for false imprisonment. He had been held over a long period pending decisions in the courts on the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other, Human Rights, Constitutional
Leading Case
Updated: 02 November 2021; Ref: scu.265914