Tudor-Evans J said: ‘In my judgment, the sentence of the court and the provisions of section 12(1) always afford a defence to an action of false imprisonment. The sentence justifies the fact of imprisonment and the subsection justifies the confinement of a prisoner in any prison. How then can it be unjustifiable and unlawful to confine him there? I accept the submission . . that the sentence of the court and the provisions of section 12(1) provide a defence to this action, subject to the arguments based on the Bill of Rights and natural justice . . The next question is whether the lawfulness of the detention can be affected by the conditions of the detention. I do not think so. The question of the conditions of imprisonment is a matter for the Secretary of State. The check or safeguard against unacceptable conditions . . lies in the prisoner’s rights under the rules to complain to the governor or the Secretary of State.’
Judges:
Tudor-Evans J
Citations:
[1981] 1 All ER 1151
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
See Also – Williams v Home Office (No 2) 2-Jan-1981
The plaintiff prisoner had been transferred from ordinary prison to a special control unit which had been established at the prison as a means of containing and controlling prisoners who were considered to be troublemakers and inducing them to . .
Cited by:
See Also – Williams v Home Office (No 2) 2-Jan-1981
The plaintiff prisoner had been transferred from ordinary prison to a special control unit which had been established at the prison as a means of containing and controlling prisoners who were considered to be troublemakers and inducing them to . .
See Also – Home Office v Hariette Harman HL 11-Feb-1982
The defendant had permitted a journalist to see documents revealed to her as in her capacity as a solicitor in the course of proceedings.
Held: The documents were disclosed under an obligation to use them for the instant case only. That rule . .
Cited – Middleweek v The Chief Constable of Merseyside (Note) CA 1990
The plaintiff had been awarded damages for false imprisonment by the jury on the basis that his otherwise lawful detention at a police station had been made unlawful because it was unreasonable in the circumstances to keep him in a police cell.
Cited – Regina v Deputy Governor of Parkhurst Prison, Ex parte Hague, Weldon v Home Office HL 24-Jul-1991
The prisoner challenged the decision to place him in segregation under Prison Rule 43. Under rule 43(1) the initial power to segregate was given to ‘the governor’. The case arose from the fact that the governor of one prison had purported to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Litigation Practice, Torts – Other
Updated: 09 May 2022; Ref: scu.223347