Foley, R (on the application of) v Parole Board for England and Wales & Anor

Foley, R (on the application of) v Parole Board for England and Wales & Anor

The court held that, following binding House of Lords authority in Clift (HL), the claimant could not bring herself within the 'other status' provision of Article 14 ECHR, and her claim must fail on that basis, despite the European Court of Human Rights decision to the contrary. The court further found that, but for the binding precedent, there would be no objective justification for the more onerous test applied to determinate sentence prisoners.

Parties
Claimant: Caron Foley; Defendant: The Parole Board for England and Wales; Defendant: The Secretary of State for Justice
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
27 July 2012
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Final Judgment
Outcome
Claim dismissed
Legal Topics
Parole, Discrimination, Article 14 ECHR, Release of Prisoners, Sentencing
Criminal Law Human Rights Law Prison Law Parole Discrimination Article 14 ECHR Release of Prisoners Sentencing

Case Brief

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Parties

Caron Foley

Claimant

The Parole Board for England and Wales

Defendant

The Secretary of State for Justice

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the test for early release applied to long-term determinate sentence prisoners is more onerous than that applied to indeterminate sentence prisoners and if so, whether this constitutes unjustified discrimination contrary to Article 14 ECHR.
  2. 2 Whether the difference in treatment is based on 'other status' within Article 14 ECHR.
  3. 3 Whether there is objective justification for the difference in release tests between determinate and indeterminate sentence prisoners.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that, following binding House of Lords authority in Clift (HL), the claimant could not bring herself within the 'other status' provision of Article 14 ECHR, and her claim must fail on that basis, despite the European Court of Human Rights decision to the contrary. The court further found that, but for the binding precedent, there would be no objective justification for the more onerous test applied to determinate sentence prisoners.

Court Disposition

Claim dismissed