The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision that the constitutional rights of a prisoner were breached as a result of being held in long-term solitary confinement. The appeal primarily dealt with whether segregation was authorised, as required by the applicable legislation, and whether the requirements of procedural fairness were met. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission appeared as amicus curiae in the case.
The Applicant, a prisoner in Wheatfield Prison, claimed that his constitutional and human rights were violated as a result of being subject to a 23 hour lock –up regime since February 2014. The prison’s governor, who appealed the High Court’s decision, argued the Applicant had been kept apart from the rest of the prison population for his own safety.
The Court of Appeal found that although the conditions of the Applicant’s detention were extremely harsh, they did not amount to a breach of his constitutional rights. Taking into account that the threat to the Applicant was grave, it was found that the Prison Authorities were doing all they could to ease the conditions of his detention. The critical question was whether the prisoner’s continued segregation was justified having regard to all the relevant circumstances.
The Court did establish a high onus on prisons; being that they have a continuing obligation to the Applicant to make his life as comfortable as possible and that the current conditions are not acceptable in the long term, stating that it would require a cogent justification before it is satisfied that the decision to authorise its continuation is reasonable.
IHREC, in response to this decision, have said that, despite the decision, it is important that any restricted regime being imposed on a prisoner for non-punishment purposes would be kept under consistent review, and that the prisoner should be facilitated to have their views taken into account in the decision making process. IHREC questioned whether Prison Rules at present are sufficient in this regard and stated that they should be amended accordingly to formalise a review process to bring the segregation of a prisoner to an end at the earliest possible opportunity.
Following the initial judgment in February, the Inspector of Prisons embarked on a review of the Irish prison system and will produce a report with recommendation by 1st September 2015. The Terms of Reference for this review were to carry out an assessment of the current culture within the Irish Prison Service and the extent to which it facilitates or hinders the development of the service.
Click here for our previous Bulletin article on the case.