s22 – Humane Treatment When Deprived of Liberty

The Children’s Rights Alliance for England v Secretary of State for Justice [2012] EWHC 8 (Admin) (11 January 2012)

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 [...]

Grant v Ministry of Justice [2011] EWHC 3379 (QB) (19 December 2011)

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 [...]

Rahmatullah v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs & Anor [2011] EWCA Civ 1540 (14 December 2011)

Court rules that UK must act to secure release of prisoner from notorious US prison Rahmatullah v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs & Anor [2011] EWCA Civ 1540 (14 December 2011) Summary On 14 December 2011, the England and Wles Court of Appeal overturned a decision of the High Court and issued [...]

Mandic and Jovic v Slovenia [2011] ECHR Application Nos. 5774/10 and 5985/10 (20 October 2011)

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 [...]

Equality and Human Rights Commission v Prime Minister & Ors [2011] EWHC 2401 (Admin) (3 October 2011)

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 [...]

Brown, Governor of California et al v Plata et al, 563 US _____ (2011) (23 May 2011)

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 [...]

Kupczak v Poland [2011] ECHR 127 (25 January 2011)

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 [...]

McCallum v South Africa, UN Doc CCPR/C/100/D/1818/2008 (2 November 2010)

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 [...]

Castles v Secretary to the Department of Justice [2010] VSC 310 (9 July 2010)

Right to Humane Treatment in Detention and Prisoner Access to Health Care Castles v Secretary to the Department of Justice [2010] VSC 310 (9 July 2010) On 9 July 2010, the Supreme Court of Victoria found that the plaintiff, Kimberley Castles, is entitled under s 47(1)(f) of the Corrections Act 1986 to undergo IVF treatment.  [...]

Castles v Secretary of the Department of Justice & Ors [2010] VSC 181 (4 May 2010)

Supreme Court Orders Speedy Trial to Determine Prisoner’s Eligibility to Access IVF Treatment under Victorian Charter Castles v Secretary of the Department of Justice & Ors [2010] VSC 181 (4 May 2010) The Supreme Court of Victoria has rejected an application by a female prisoner for an injunction restraining the Secretary of the Department of [...]

In the matter of a Major Review of Derek Ernest Percy [2010] VSC 179 (31 March 2010)

Statutory Interpretation and Limitations on Rights In the matter of a Major Review of Derek Ernest Percy [2010] VSC 179 (31 March 2010) Derek Percy, the only remaining prisoner in Victoria who was found not guilty of murder on the grounds of insanity, sought to have his custodial supervision order varied pursuant to the Crimes [...]

Trang v Alberta (Edmonton Remand Centre), 2010 ABQB 6 (11 January 2010)

Canadian Court Declares that Prison Conditions Violate Fundamental Human Rights Trang v Alberta (Edmonton Remand Centre), 2010 ABQB 6 (11 January 2010) The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta has declared that conditions under which untried prisoners were held in Edmonton Remand Centre (‘ERC’) pending trial for conspiracy to traffic illicit drugs resulted in a [...]

Rogers v Chief Commissioner of Police [2009] VCAT 2526 (26 November 2009)

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 [...]

Dale v DPP [2009] VSCA 212 (21 September 2009)

Supreme Court Considers Relevance of Conditions of Detention to Bail  Dale v DPP [2009] VSCA 212 (21 September 2009) In considering whether a former police officer should be granted bail, the Court of Appeal accepted that the circumstances of his custody constituted ‘exceptional circumstances’ as defined by the Bail Act 1977 (Vic).  Unless the appellant [...]

R v Kent [2009] VSC 375 (2 September 2009)

Supreme Court Considers Relevance of Conditions of Detention to Sentencing  R v Kent [2009] VSC 375 (2 September 2009) On 2 September 2009, Bongiorno J of the Victorian Supreme Court handed down a decision which considered the application of the Charter to sentences of imprisonment imposed on individuals with mental health conditions.  Facts Shane Kent [...]

Faizovas, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice [2009] EWCA Civ 373 (13 May 2009)

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 [...]

Wiktorko v Poland [2009] ECHR 14612/02 (31 March 2009)

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 [...]

Czarnowski v Poland [2009] ECHR 28586/035 (20 January 2009)

Is Refusal to Attend a Funeral a Breach of the Right to a Private and Family Life for Prisoners? Czarnowski v Poland [2009] ECHR 28586/035 (20 January 2009) The Applicant, Mr Edward Czarnowski, lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights against Poland for breach of art 8 of the European Convention on [...]

R v White [2007] VSC 142 (7 May 2007)

The incarceration in prison of a person with a severe psychiatric illness may amount to a violation of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights, according to Bongiorno J of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Detailed case note. The full text decision is available at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSC/2007/142.html.

Brough v Australia (UN Human Rights Committee, Communication No 1184/2003)

In March 2006, the UN Human Rights Committee (‘HRC’) published a landmark finding concerning alleged breaches of articles 2(3) (right to an effective remedy), 7 (right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment), 10 (rights of persons deprived of their liberty) and 24 (right to adequate protection for children) of the International [...]