Queen’s Bench Division
Published February 11, 2008
Regina (Haase) v Independent Adjudicator
Prison disciplinary hearings by independent adjudicators, in which the prosecution case was presented by a prison officer who might also be a witness, were not incompatible with the right to a fair trial guaranteed by article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Mr Justice Stanley Burnton so held in a reserved judgment in the Queen’s Bench Division on December 20, 2007 when dismissing an application by John Haase for judicial review of a finding of guilt in prison disciplinary proceedings made against him on April 7, 2006 by District Judge Nuttall, independent adjudicator at Full Sutton Prison.
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The prosecution was conducted by the reporting prison officer, who also gave evidence in the course of the adjudication carried out under the Prison Rules (SI 1999 No 728) and the Prison Disciplinary Manual: Adjudications (PSO 2000). The claimant contended that the prosecution lacked sufficient independence.
HIS LORDSHIP said it was common ground that article 6 applied to the hearing before independent adjudicators under the 1999 Rules. There was nothing in the Strasbourg authorities to indicate that the prosecutor was required to be independent.
Offences considered by adjudicators were at the less serious end of the spectrum. More serious offences were referred to the ordinary criminal courts.
In the present context, disciplinary proceedings were to be dealt with speedily; prison officers were expected to act fairly and with integrity and their duty to do so was required by the Manual. Fairness did not require an independent prosecutor.