Overview

A recent judgment addresses profound issues about the extent to which the state should reach into the family home, even to protect vulnerable adults and children who may be deprived of their liberty, and could also affect the way we use the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards in the public arena.

Re A and Re C
The facts are fairly simple, though the judgment is not. There were two separate linked cases heard together, by Munby J (now Lord Justice Munby) in July 2009, though it took nearly a year to hand down the judgment [2010] EWHC 978.

A is an 8 year old girl, and C is a 20 year old young woman. They are not related. They are both at particular risk at night, due to a genetic condition (Smith Magenis syndrome) associated with learning disability, disturbed sleep patterns and serious self harming behaviour. They both live at the family home, and to keep A and C (and other members of their families) safe, each family has, as a last resort, taken to locking their daughter in her bedroom overnight. It was agreed by all involved that there was no other real alternative.

The Court had to consider whether this is a deprivation of liberty (DoL), to engage Article 5 of the European Convention, despite being only an act of private individuals rather than the state, and what role the state, through the local authority, has in such cases.

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