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s10 – Protection from Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
The use of restraints against young people in Secure Training Centres The Children’s Rights Alliance for England v Secretary of State for Justice [2012] EWHC 8 (Admin) (11 January 2012) Summary This decision of the England and Wales High Court held that whilst certain measures had been unlawfully perpetrated against young people in secure training [...]
What amounts to degrading treatment in prison? Grant v Ministry of Justice [2011] EWHC 3379 (QB) (19 December 2011) Summary In Grant v Ministry of Justice, the High Court of England and Wales dismissed claims by two prisoners that the prison sanitation regime at HMP Albany breached their right under article 3 of the European [...]
Investigations of deaths implicating the state must be comprehensive and fully independent R, Mousa v Secretary of State for Defence & Anor [2011] EWCA Civ 1334 (22 November 2011) Summary The UK Court of Appeal recently considered the investigation obligation under articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the context [...]
Sterilisation of woman amounted to breach of respect for private life and prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment V.C. v Slovakia [2011] ECHR 1888 (8 November 2011) Summary In this case, the European Court of Human Rights held that the sterilisation of a woman, in circumstances where “consent” to the procedure was obtained during the [...]
Systemic overcrowding in prisons may amount to inhuman and degrading treatment Mandic and Jovic v Slovenia [2011] ECHR Application Nos. 5774/10 and 5985/10 (20 October 2011) Summary In this case, the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that inadequate physical conditions of detention in prison, in particular insufficient personal space for prisoners resulting from systemic [...]
Government guidance for intelligent officers should recognise that ‘hooding’ will normally constitute torture or ill-treatment Equality and Human Rights Commission v Prime Minister & Ors [2011] EWHC 2401 (Admin) (3 October 2011) Summary The High Court of England and Wales has partially upheld claims by the Equality & Human Rights Commision and Mr Al Bazzouni [...]
Treatment and conditions of detention for women must be gender-sensitive, says CEDAW Inga Abramova v Belarus, Communication No. 23/2009, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/49/D/20/2008 (2011) Summary The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has found that Belarus’ treatment of a woman detained under administrative arrest violated articles 2(a)-2(b), 2(e)-2(f), 3 and 5(a) of the Convention [...]
Failure to protect woman effectively against domestic violence violated Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women V.K. v. Bulgaria, UN Doc CEDAW/C/49/D/20/2008 (17 August 2011) Summary The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has found that Bulgaria’s failure to protect V.K. effectively against domestic violence amounted to violations of articles 2(c)-2(f) of the [...]
Treatment of young rape survivor violated ICCPR L.N.P. v Argentine Republic, Comm. No. 1610/2007, UN Doc. CCPR/C/102/D/1610/2007 (2011) The Human Rights Committee recently found that Argentina’s treatment of a 15 year-old rape survivor violated articles 2(3), 3, 7, 14(1), 17, 24 and 26 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. Facts L.N.P., an [...]
UK’s detention of individual suffering mental illness amounted to torture and ill-treatment The Queen (on the application of S) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWCH 2120 (Admin) (5 August 2011) Summary The Claimant, S, sought judicial review of the decision to detain him pending deportation. Owing to circumstances relating to [...]
State bears responsibility for deaths in custody Zhumbaeva v Kyrgyzstan, UN Doc CCPR/C/102/D/1756/2008 (19 July 2011) Summary In this case, the United Nations Human Rights Committee held that Kyrgyzstan was responsible for injuries to, and the death of, a man held in police custody. The Committee based its decision on the principles that a State [...]
Deportation to situations of generalised violence may breach human rights Sufi and Elmi v The United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 1045 (28 June 2011) Summary The European Court of Human Rights (the Court) has found that the return of two Somali nationals to Mogadishu, Somalia would amount to inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of article [...]
State bears onus to explain injuries in custody Gubacsi v Hungary [2011] ECHR 1044 (28 June 2011) Summary In this case, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) confirmed that ill-treatment of persons in custody by police, if sufficiently serious, may amount to inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of article 3 of the [...]
European Court holds that failure to provide access to reproductive healthcare may violate prohibition against torture and ill-treatment R.R. v Poland [2011] ECHR 828 (26 May 2011) Summary In this case the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered judgment in favour of an applicant, Ms R.R., who brought a case against Poland for a [...]
Supreme Court of the United States upholds ‘structural injunction’ requiring California to reduce its prison population Brown, Governor of California et al v Plata et al, 563 US _____ (2011) (23 May 2011) Summary On 23 May 2011 the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a lower court’s decision finding that the conditions in [...]
Restricting access to legal abortion may amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under the ICCPR LMR v Argentina, UN Doc CCPR/C/101/D/1608/2007 (28 April 2011) Summary In May 2007, VDA, an Argentine national, submitted a communication to the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of her daughter, LMR, who has a permanent [...]
Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Amounts to Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment Daniel and Another v The Attorney General and Others (A 430/2009) [2011] NAHC 66 (10 March 2011) Summary The Namibian High Court recently considered whether mandatory minimum sentences for stock theft under the Stock Theft Act violated the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment [...]
When Torture Abroad Will Prevent Prosecution of a Terrorist Defendant Ahmed & Anor v The Queen [2011] EWCA Crim 184 (25 February 2011) Summary The applicant claimed that his prosecution for terrorism offences would amount to an abuse of process, on the grounds that British authorities were complicit in his torture committed abroad by Pakistani [...]
Lack of Adequate Healthcare in Prison is Inhumane and Degrading Kupczak v Poland [2011] ECHR 127 (25 January 2011) Summary Mr Edward Kupczak (the ‘applicant’) was held in detention in Poland awaiting trial for offences related to organised crime. The Applicant was severely disabled in a car accident six years prior to his detention, and [...]
Detention of Children in Immigration Facilities a Breach of Human Rights Suppiah & Ors, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWHC 2 (Admin) (11 January 2011) The High Court of England and Wales decided that two families who had sought asylum in the United Kingdom were detained [...]
‘Human Rights are Not Just for the Virtuous’: Will Criminal Conduct Prevent a Claim for Breach of Human Rights? Al Hassan-Daniel & Anor v HM Revenue and Customs & Anor [2010] EWCA Civ 1443 (15 December 2010) This case concerned the death in custody of Anthony Daniel, a drug smuggler and user. Mr Daniel’s widow [...]
Permissible Use of Force and the Investigation of Police-Related Deaths Bennett v United Kingdom – 5527/08 [2010] ECHR 2142 (7 December 2010) An essential safeguard to the right of life enshrined in art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights is that effective official investigations are conducted when individuals are killed through the use [...]
Ill-Treatment in Custody: Human Rights Committee Considers Prisoners’ Rights in Detention McCallum v South Africa, UN Doc CCPR/C/100/D/1818/2008 (2 November 2010) The Human Rights Committee has found that South Africa violated a prisoner’s rights not to be tortured or treated in a cruel, inhuman or degrading manner and to be treated with humanity and respected [...]
Adrakhim Usaev v Russian Federation, UN Doc CCPR/C/99/D/1577/2007 (20 August 2010) The Human Rights Committee, in consideration of a communication submitted under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ruled that a man currently imprisoned in Russia had been subjected by the law enforcement authorities to torture or cruel, inhuman [...]
Human Rights Committee Considers Necessity for Independent, Impartial Investigations in Cases of Alleged Breaches of the ICCPR Olimzhin Eshonov v Uzbekistan, UN Doc CCPR/C/99/D/1225/2003 A father of a man who died in custody submitted a complaint to the Human Rights Committee (Committee), alleging violations of his son’s rights and his own rights under arts 2, [...]
Torture and the Transfer of Prisoners Evans, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Defence [2010] EWHC 1445 (Admin) (25 June 2010) Ms Evans, a peace activist, sought to stop the practice of British personnel transferring detainees to the Afghan authorities by arguing the practice exposed such transferees to a real risk [...]
Threat of Torture during Interrogation Amounts to Inhuman Treatment Gafgen v Germany [2010] ECHR 759 (1 June 2010) The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has found, by majority, that a threat of torture amounted to inhuman treatment, but was not sufficiently cruel to amount to torture within the meaning of the [...]
Refugee Rights and Non-Refoulement: Proposed Transfer of Asylum Applicant from UK to Greece did not Breach European Convention Saeedi, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Ors [2010] EWHC 705 (Admin) (31 March 2010) The England and Wales High Court recently held that the proposed transfer of an [...]
Protection from Cruel Treatment and the Death Penalty: UK Breaches Convention Obligations by Transferring Prisoners to Iraqi Custody Al-Sadoom and Mufdhi v United Kingdom [2010] ECHR 282 (2 March 2010) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the United Kingdom breached a number of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights [...]
‘Act of State Doctrine’ does not Apply when Grave Violations of Human Rights Alleged: Court Agrees to Consider Australia’s Obligations to Citizens Abroad Habib v Commonwealth of Australia [2010] FCAFC 12 (25 February 2010) On 25 February 2010, the Full Court of the Federal Court delivered a significant judgment that will allow the Court to [...]
Right to Liberty and Security and the Police Use of Force: Excessive Use of Force Results in Reduction of Sentence R v Nasogaluak, 2010 SCC 6 (19 February 2010) The Canadian Supreme Court has held that the excessive use of force by police officers in conducting an arrest was a breach of the accused’s right [...]
Human Rights and Foreign Policy: Supreme Court Considers Canada’s Obligation to Protect the Human Rights of Citizens Abroad Canada (Prime Minister) v Khadr, 2010 SCC 3 (29 January 2010) The Canadian Supreme Court has confirmed that Canadian officials breached Omar Khadr’s right to liberty and security of the person under s 7 of the Charter [...]
Freedom of Information and Security of Prisons Rogers v Chief Commissioner of Police [2009] VCAT 2526 (26 November 2009) In Rogers v Chief Commissioner of Police, VCAT held that CCTV footage and audio tape used for the investigation of an incident that occurred in the Banksia Unit of HM Barwon Prison were exempt from disclosure [...]
Australia’s Obligation to Protect People from the Death Penalty Kwok v Australia, CCPR/C/97/D/1442/2005 (23 November 2009) The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found Australia to be in breach of its obligations under art 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in relation to mandatory immigration detention. The Committee ruled that ‘detention [...]
The Prohibition of Ill-Treatment and Prevention of Destitution in a Third State EW, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWHC 2957 (Admin) (18 November 2009) In this case, the England and Wales High Court held that the extradition of an asylum seeker to a safe third country [...]
Governmental Obligations in Foreign Affairs and to Citizens Abroad Canada (Prime Minister) v Khadr, 2009 FCA 246 (14 August 2009) A majority of the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal recently held that Canada’s discretion to decide whether and when to request the return of a Canadian citizen detained in a foreign country, a matter within [...]
Supervised Treatment and Limitations on the Rights of Persons with Disability under the Charter AC (Guardianship) [2009] VCAT 1186 (8 July 2009) This case concerns AC, a 26 year old man with a mild intellectual disability who has been living at Sandhurst since 2000. Due to a history of assaultive and sexualised behaviours, AC was [...]
European Court Considers State Obligations to Prevent and Address Domestic Violence Opuz v Turkey [2009] ECHR 33401/02 (9 June 2009) In June 2009, the European Court of Human Rights found Turkey in violation of its obligations, under arts 2, 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to protect the applicant and her [...]
Detailed and Individualised Risk Assessment Required Prior to any Handcuffing of Prisoner During Hospital Visits Faizovas, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice [2009] EWCA Civ 373 (13 May 2009) This case sets out a requirement for prisons to undertake detailed risk assessments if they deem it necessary for handcuffs to [...]
Deportation and Non-Refoulement X v Australia, UN Doc CAT/C/42/D/324/2007 (5 May 2009) Mr X, a Palestinian born in Lebanon in 1960, was detained at the Villawood Detention Centre in Australia. He sought political asylum in Australia, however, his request was rejected and he risked forcible removal to Lebanon. He claimed, inter alia, that by deporting [...]
Failure to Review Involuntary Treatment a Breach of Human Rights Kracke v Mental Health Review Board [2009] VCAT 646 (23 April 2009) On 23 April 2009, Justice Bell, President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, handed down a significant decision which discussed in detail important aspects of the application and operation of the Charter. [...]
Detention and Treatment in Government-Run ‘Sobering Up’ Centre may Amount to Ill-Treatment Wiktorko v Poland [2009] ECHR 14612/02 (31 March 2009) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the treatment of a Polish national, whilst detained at a government-run ‘sobering-up centre’, constituted degrading treatment in violation of the substantive protection of art 3 [...]
State Obligation to Conduct Public Investigation into Potential Violations of the Right to Life and Prohibition against Ill-Treatment AM & Ors, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Ors [2009] EWCA Civ 219 (17 March 2009) The UK Court of Appeal has affirmed that the government has an [...]
Mental Health and the Charter 09-085 [2009] VMHRB (23 February 2009) In this case, which concerned the review of a community treatment order (‘CTO’) that prescribed a drug with serious side-effects, a number of significant issues arose in relation to the Charter: Is the Board a ‘public authority’ and/or a ‘court or tribunal’ for the [...]
House of Lords considers Human Rights Implications of Potential Torture of Terror Suspects RB (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] UKHL 10 (18 February 2009) In this case the House of Lords dismissed appeals by RB and U, Algerian nationals, from the Court of Appeal which had allowed their appeals from [...]
The House of Lords has held that a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole does not necessarily constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note.
In this case, the House of Lords decided that a police response to sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland did not constitute a breach by the State of its positive obligation to prevent the infliction of inhuman and degrading treatment upon its citizens under art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Baroness Hale discussed [...]
On 16 October 2008, the European Court of Human Rights held that the suicide of a mentally ill prisoner in France was attributable to the authorities’ failure to provide adequate medical care. This failure was a breach of the deceased’s right to life and right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment. Detailed case [...]
The Human Rights Committee has found that the State party breached art 2(3) (adequacy of remedy), when read with art 7 (torture and other prohibited treatment), of the ICCPR, by failing to ensure that complaints about mistreatment by police officers were adequately and satisfactorily investigated by competent authorities. Detailed case note.
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales has allowed an appeal by RS, a Zimbabwean national, against a decision of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal to dismiss her appeal against a decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Department to refuse to allow RS to remain in the United Kingdom for medical treatment [...]
In this case, the England and Wales Court of Appeal held that rules introduced to maintain good order and discipline in children detained in Secure Training Centres (‘STCs’) should be quashed for breach of art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and other ill-treatment. Detailed case note.
The European Court of Human Rights held that there had been a violation of art 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights because the applicant’s conditions of detention were not appropriate to his state of health. In the Court’s view, in circumstances such as these, the State should [...]
The European Court has held that public authorities have a particular duty and responsibility for the health and well-being of those in its custody or detention. The Court further held that a failure to provide adequate mental health care to detainees in circumstances which do not adequately accommodate, or which result in the deterioration of, [...]
The Queen’s Bench Division of the UK High Court has considered whether handcuffing two sick prisoners during treatment violated their right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note.
In this case, the applicant, a man with chronic schizophrenia, was subjected to the practices of restraint and seclusion while detained. The applicant successfully complained to the European Court of Human Rights of violations of art 3 (prohibition on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and art 5 (right to liberty and security of [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has held that the medical treatment of a prisoner within a remand centre and prison hospital was inadequate and that failure to treat him as an inpatient at a hospital where he could receive the necessary neurological and hyperbaric oxygen treatment amounted to a violation of the prohibition on [...]
In a judgment handed down on 12 June 2007, the European Court of Human Rights held that particular strip searches conducted on the applicant violated the prohibition on degrading treatment in art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’). Further, certain restrictions placed on the applicant’s correspondence violated the right to privacy protected [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has held that serious allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment must be the subject of expeditious, effective and independent investigation. It has further held that evidence of ill-treatment, particularly of persons in custody, will give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the ill-treatment [...]
In a series of recent cases, the European Court of Human Rights has found conditions of detention in prisons to be incompatible with the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment enshrined in art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Detailed case note on the cases of Andrey [...]
The European Court of Human Rights has found a violation of art 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights on account of the authorities’ failure to provide a prisoner with medical care appropriate to his conditions. Detailed case note.
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