R (Brooke and Others) v Parole Board

Mike Fordham QC acted for the Parole Board in this judicial review case, which established that the Secretary of State’s arrangements for parole had compromised the independence of the Board at common law and under HRA: ECHR Art 5(4). This decision has been upheld by the Court of Appeal. Mike also acted in the related case of Girling [2006] EWCA Civ 1779 [2007] 2 WLR 782.    

The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the High Court that the Parole Board, which makes decisions whether to release prisoners on licence and after recall from licence, does not satisfy the requirement of objective independence from the Executive or the parties before it. Lord Chief Justice Philips, Lord Justice Dyson and Lord Justice Toulson ruled that the Divisional Court's finding that the Parole Board did not meet the requirements of the common law and of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 Art.5 for a court to have demonstrated objective independence of the executive and of the parties was justified.