Court of Appeal upholds sex offenders register ruling
23/07/2009
The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) has upheld the important High Court ruling that indefinite notification requirements for convicted sex offenders without review is incompatible with Article 8 of the Convention on human rights.
JF & Anor,R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWCA Civ 792 (23 July 2009); [2009] WLR(D)253
> judgment
Following the hearing on 9/7/09 before Dyson LJ, Kay LJ and Hooper LJ, the judgment concluded:
"[65.] ...Parliament's objective in establishing the Sex Offenders Register, was to assist the police to detect and prevent sexual offending. This is an objective which all right-minded people would applaud without hesitation or qualification. But for the reasons that we have given, a scheme which obliges offenders who are sentenced to 30 months' detention or more to remain on the Register for the rest of their lives without any possibility of review, even if they can clearly demonstrate that they are no longer a risk, does nothing to promote that laudable objective and, in our view, it is disproportionate for that reason..."
The Secretary of State's appeal against the declaration of incompatibility pursuant to section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 was dismissed. The Secretary of State is seeking permission to appeal to the House of Lords, but unless the declaration is quashed, Parliament will have to amend the legislation to provide for reviews.
Tim Owen QC and Pete Weatherby of GCN appeared for Angus Thompson instructed by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors
Quick links
> 19/12/08 - High Court ruling on sex offenders register
Media coverage
> 24/7/09 - Sex ofender register for life "breaches rights" of rapists and paedophiles (The Telegraph)
