Kelly's (Vincent) Application
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | [2017] NIQB 99 |
| Date | 27 October 2017 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2017] NIQB 99
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: MAG10353
Delivered: 27/10/2017
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
________
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION (JUDICIAL REVIEW)
________
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY VINCENT KELLY
FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
AND IN THE MATTER OF A DECISION OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND
PRISON SERVICE DATED 27 FEBRUARY 2017
________
MAGUIRE J
Introduction
[1] This judicial review application originally came before the court on an
emergency basis on 10 March 2017. The application took the form of a challenge to a
decision of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (“NIPS”) made on 27 February 2017.
That decision (“the impugned decision”) took the form of a denial of a request made
by the applicant, who is a convicted prisoner, for a period of temporary release to
attend his son’s Holy Confirmation on 13 March 2017. The Lord Chief Justice dealt
with the emergency application and granted leave to apply for judicial review but
did not intervene otherwise.
[2] As a result of the above, the applicant was not in fact released to attend his
son’s confirmation. Ordinarily that would be the end of the matter as the issue as
between the parties would usually be viewed as having become academic.
However, in view of the fact that the parties had filed affidavit evidence following
the grant of leave, the court agreed to hear the substantive judicial review in this
case, as there appeared to be a good reason in the public interest exceptionally for
doing so. The legal provisions at issue in the proceedings arise regularly for
consideration by judges exercising the judicial review jurisdiction and it was thought
that it might be of value to consider them in a case where the court was able to
provide a judgment without the usual pressure of events which bear down on it
when it is dealing with an application which has come before it at very short notice
in respect of a period of temporary release which is sought to enable the applicant to
attend an event within hours or a day or two of the initiation of the proceedings. In
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2 cases
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Larkin's (Michael) Application
...health risk within prisons is an area where the court ought to exercise a light-touch review. [70] In addition, in Re Kelly’s Application [2017] NIQB 99 – albeit arising in a different context from the above case (namely a decision of the prison authorities not to grant compassionate tempor......
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Matthew Johnston's Application
...this jurisdiction including Re McGlinchey’s Application [2013] NIQB 5, Re Smith’s Application [2014] NIQB 50 and Re Kelly’s Application [2017] NIQB 99 that it is incumbent upon decision-makers in this arena to consider the Convention rights of prisoners and, particularly, the article 8 righ......