Lawyers join to form human rights development forum

Human rights lawyers have joined forces to set up a practitioners' association aimed at developing thinking in the world of human rights law.

The Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA), which launches next week, aims to provide a discussion forum for specialists in the area.

One of HRLA's founding members, Christian Fisher Khan partner Sadiq Khan, said: 'Up until now human rights lawyers have had no professional association.'

The HRLA will also act as a forum for its members to respond to government proposals.

'We want to ensure that the voice of human rights lawyers is heard,' said Mr Khan.

Elsewhere this week, in what is only the second time that damages have been awarded for a breach of human rights, the High Court awarded damages to a group of individuals who suffered because the government failed to provide a speedy determination of their detention under the Mental Health Act.

Last spring, Judge Stanley Brunton found in favour of eight individuals who had their mental health tribunals repeatedly delayed and cancelled.

The case came back before him recently to consider whether damages should be awarded.

Six of the eight claimants were awarded between 750 and 4,000 each.

Andrew Guile, a partner at north London firm Galbraith Branley, who represented one of the claimants, said: 'The judge awarded damages for the distress caused by the repeated cancellations.

The amounts differed because the amount of stress was different in each case - for example, some people were kept in locked wards until their hearing.'

The tribunals were cancelled because the authority could not always get a doctor, a lawyer and a lay person to attend.

'The judge addressed this problem of resources, and said they had a duty to give the patient a speedy determination of the situation.'

The other firms involved were Kaim Todner, Stuart Miller & Co, and Archers, all based in London, and Harman & Harman in Canterbury.

LINKS: www.hrla.co.uk

Victoria MacCallum