DD v (1) Durham County Council (2) Middlesbrough City Council [2012] EWHC 1053 (QB)(Eady J): An application for permission to issue a claim under the s 139 of the Mental Health Act 1983 for false imprisonment and for breach of human rights was refused where there was no real prospect of establishing liability against the relevant approved mental health practitioners (AMHP). The court held the purpose of s 145 of the Mental Health Act 1983 was to ensure there would be a local authority available to stand in the shoes of any AMHP against whom a claim was made and there was nothing in s 145(1AC) to suggest that an AMHP practitioner could act only on behalf of a local authority by which he was employed.(click here for transcript).
R (on the application of HA (Nigeria)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 979 (Admin) (Singh J): The claimant applied for judicial review of Secretary of State's decisions to continue authorising his detention and of the conditions of that detention given that the claimant was now suffering from a mental illness. On granting the application the court held the Secretary of State's decision to authorise the Claimant's continued detention was flawed from when she had the opportunity to consider the matter more fully, and in particular to digest the implications of the psychiatrist's report and the r.35 notice. The Court held that a change to the wording of a policy of the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the suitability for detention of mentally ill persons had effected a change to the policy and had been unlawful for failure to comply with public sector equality duties. The court decided obiter that the power to transfer a detained person to hospital under s 48 of Mental Health Act 1983 did not apply to those detained under the UK Borders Act 2007 (click here for transcript).
The claimant was represented by Stephanie Harrison.
