Human Rights issues

Scholes v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 1343

Counsel: For the appellant:T Owen QC, H Southey For the respondent: N Garnham QC, J Richards Solicitors: For the appellant: Bhatt Murphy For the respondent:Treasury Solicitor

S appealed against a decision not to convene a public inquiry into the death of J at the age of sixteen years. J, the son of S, had hanged himself in a young offender institution after he had pleaded guilty to three offences of robbery, and was sentenced to a two-year detention and training order. The judge who had issued the sentence had heard evidence that J was at risk of self-harm. The jury at the inquest had returned a verdict of accidental death, and the inquisition had stated that his death had been contributed to by failure on the part of the authorities to recognise the risk and take appropriate precautions. The coroner wrote to the Secretary of State after the inquest, recommending if a public inquiry were held, it could cover the pre-sentence exercise, the allocation process and the provision of local authority secure children’s homes. However, the Secretary of State refused that request, though the Government referred the matter of J’s custodial sentence to the Sentencing Guidelines Council. A former inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate was appointed to examine the operational issues raised by J’s case and the Government asked the Youth Justice Board to give consideration to the availability and adequacy of custodial provision for vulnerable young offenders. S argued that in deciding not to convene a full public inquiry, the Secretary of State, had failed to comply with the UK’s duty under the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 Art.2 to investigate the circumstances of J’s death, the sentence he had been given and the process of allocating J to a young offender institution.