Interim policy for release of mandatory life prisoners - claimant's review accelerated and to be assessed with competing interest of other life prisoners - review process neither in breach of claimant's convention rights nor unreasonable considering finite resources and needs of other life prisoners

R (Murray) v Parole Board and anor: CA (Lords Justice Mummery and Sedley and Mr Justice Munby): 6 November 2003

The home secretary accepted the Parole Board's recommendation that the claimant, a recalled mandatory life prisoner whose tariff had expired, be tested in open conditions and that a further review be completed after two years.

The claimant sought judicial review on the ground that the process of review was in breach of article 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The home secretary, who in the light of a decision of the European Court of Human Rights had adopted an interim policy on the release of mandatory life prisoners pending enactment of new legislation, accelerated his review programme to 15 months.

The judge dismissed the claim.

The claimant appealed, but was released on the morning of the hearing.

The home secretary submitted that the appeal should not be heard since it had become academic.

Flo Krause (instructed by Nelsons, Nottingham) for the claimant; Parishil Patel (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the home secretary.

Held, dismissing the appeal, that since the issues were likely to affect other cases the appeal should be heard; and that the interim procedure, the effect of which was that a prisoner's two-year review set before the change in policy and since accelerated to 15 months would now be considered together with the competing interests of other life prisoners, was neither in breach of article 5(4) nor unreasonable bearing in mind the finite resources available to the Parole Board and the needs of other life sentence prisoners.

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