The Secretary of State for Justice v RB & Anor [2011] EWCA Civ 1608 (20 December 2011)In this case the UK Court of Appeal considered whether the power to detain a convicted mental health patient continued to apply when the patient was "conditionally discharged" from detainment in hospital to another institution. The Court concluded that it constituted an unlawful continued deprivation of his liberty because of the wording of the Mental Health Act 1983. The decision is important because it upholds the fundamental nature of right to liberty, emphasises the high threshold for its deprivation, and maintains compatibility between the MHA and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Grant v Ministry of Justice [2011] EWHC 3379 (QB) (19 December 2011)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 Convention on Human Rights not to be subjected to degrading treatment or punishment. Hickinbottom J’s judgement provides useful guidance on what must be established for treatment to be considered degrading in the context of imprisonment.

Naik, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2001] EWCA Civ 1546 (19 December 2011)The England and Wales Court of Appeal has upheld a decision to refuse entry to the UK to an Indian national, finding that exclusion on the basis of his public statements constituted a justifiable interference with the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Taha v Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court & Ors; Brookes v Magistrates’ Court of Victoria & Anor [2011] VSC 642 (16 December 2011)The Supreme Court has held that infringements officers and courts may have a duty to inquire whether a person has ‘special circumstances’ – such as intellectual disability or mental illness – before imprisoning that person in lieu of payment of unpaid fines. This duty arises under section 160 of the Infringements Act when read in conjunction with the right to liberty, the right to a fair hearing and the right to equality before the law under the Victorian Charter. 

Al-Khawaja and Tahery v United Kingdom – 26766/05 [2011] ECHR 2127 (15 December 2011)The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights recently considered the admissibility of statements made by an absent witness and the application of the 'sole or decisive test' in the context of the right to a fair trial. It held by majority that convictions based solely or decisively on such statements will not automatically constitute a breach of the right to a fair trial contained in article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Rahmatullah v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs & Anor [2011] EWCA Civ 1540 (14 December 2011) On 14 December 2011, the England and Wales Court of Appeal overturned a decision of the High Court and issued a writ of habeas corpus requiring the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Secretary of State for Defence to make a request to the US Government for the release of Mr Yunus Rahmatullah from the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The Court at first instance described Bagram as “a place said to be notorious for human rights abuses”. Mr Rahmatullah, a Pakistani national who had been captured by the British, had been held at Bagram since June 2004.

The European Court of Human Rights has clarified the scope of a State party’s obligation to investigate a death in circumstances involving a potential breach of the right to life.In Pearson v United Kingdom [2011] ECHR 2319, the Court clarified that, where government employees or agents are implicated in a death, the State is bound to adequately investigate the death to establish the relevant facts and to hold persons accountable, as appropriate. Those obligations may be met by, or shared between, several different processes and authorities. There is no requirement for a single body, such as a coroner’s court, to deal with all aspects of an investigation.

Dobson & Ors v Thames Water Utilities Ltd (No 2) [2011] EWHC 3253 (TCC) (08 December 2011)In this case the Court delivered a judgment regarding the relevance of the Human Rights Act 1998 (UK) (HRA) and European Convention on Human Rights to a claim for nuisance in an environmental law proceeding. The decision is important for ensuring consistency between human rights and common law jurisprudence.

Occupiers of Portion R25 of the Farm Mooiplaats 355 JR v Golden Thread Limited and Others (CCT 25/11) [2011] ZACC 35 (7 December 2011)In this case, if evicted, approximately 170 families would be made homeless. The South African Constitutional Court unanimously held that, before making eviction orders, the High Court should have considered whether the local authority – the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality – was able to provide alternative land or accommodation to the occupiers.

Schwabe and M.G. v Germany - 8080/08 [2011] ECHR 1986 (1 December 2011)The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the detention of two German citizens, who planned to be involved in protests against the 2007 G8 summit, constituted an unlawful breach of the rights to liberty and security of person and freedom of peaceful assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights.

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality v Blue Moonlight Properties 39 (Pty) Ltd and Another (Lawyers for Human Rights as Amicus Curiae) Case No: CCT 37/11 [2011] ZACC 33 (1 December 2011)The South African Constitutional Court has held that the City of Johannesburg had a constitutional obligation to provide emergency accommodation to vulnerable persons evicted by a private landlord.

WK v The Queen [2011] VSCA 345 (30 November 2011)In a recent appeal from an interlocutory decision of the County Court, the Victorian Court of Appeal held, by a majority of 2:1, that s 32 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) is applicable to the interpretation of the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic). Only His Honour Nettle JA considered the implications of the recent High Court decision in Momcilovic v The Queen [2011] HCA 34.