R (Hurst) v London Northern District Coroner

The House of Lords allowed the appeal by the Commissioner of Police, holding that the investigatory duty implicit in Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the procedural duty to investigate deaths) is not given domestic effect by the Human Rights Act 1998 in respect of deaths occurring before 2 October 2000. In particular, section 3 of the Human Rights Act cannot be used to read section 11(5)(b)(ii) of the Coroners Act 1988 so as to require a full Article 2 compliant inquest into a death occurring before that date. The court treated the line of authority in R v Coroner for North Humberside and Scunthorpe, Ex p Jamieson [1995] QB 1 as still governing the ordinary meaning of "how" in section 11(5)(b)(ii), subject to a narrower application of Middleton where Article 2 rights are engaged for deaths on or after 2 October 2000.

The court also held that a coroner, exercising the discretion under section 16(3) of the Coroners Act 1988, is not obliged to treat unincorporated international obligations as determinative; although such obligations may be a relevant consideration, they do not create a freestanding domestic right to an Article 2 investigation for pre-2000 deaths. The respondent's alternative reliance on section 22(4) and section 7(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998 was rejected.

Background and facts:

• Troy Hurst was stabbed to death on 25 May 2000. The killer was convicted of manslaughter. The respondent, Mrs Hurst, sought reopening of the adjourned inquest alleging failures by the police and the local housing authority to protect her son.
• The coroner refused to reopen the inquest on 19 November 2002. The Divisional Court later ordered resumption; the Commissioner obtained leave to appeal and the Court of Appeal maintained the order to resume. The Commissioner then appealed to the House of Lords.

Nature of the claim and relief sought: Mrs Hurst sought an order that the coroner resume the adjourned inquest under section 16(3) of the Coroners Act 1988 so as to permit investigation of alleged public authority failings. She relied in the alternative upon the Human Rights Act 1998 and Article 2 ECHR to require an Article 2 compliant inquest.

Issues framed by the court:

1. Whether, by virtue of section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998, sections 16 and 11(5)(b)(ii) of the Coroners Act 1988 should be read so as to be compatible with Article 2 of the Convention;
2. Whether, irrespective of the Human Rights Act's domestic application, the coroner in exercising his discretion under section 16(3) was required to take the United Kingdom's Article 2 obligations into account;
3. If the inquest were resumed only by virtue of (ii), what scope would section 11(5)(b)(ii) require for the inquiry?

Court's reasoning and conclusion:

• The majority concluded that the Human Rights Act's remedial and interpretative obligations operate in domestic law only for deaths on or after 2 October 2000, relying on the House's decision in In re McKerr [2004] 1 WLR 807. Section 3 cannot be used to give domestic effect to Article 2 for pre-2000 deaths.
• The court rejected the submission that Middleton altered the ordinary meaning of section 11(5)(b)(ii) for all inquests; Middleton's broader construction applies where Article 2 is engaged domestically (i.e. for post-2 October 2000 deaths) but does not re-write the statutory meaning for all cases.
• The coroner was not bound to give determinative effect to unincorporated international obligations when exercising his discretion, although such obligations may be a relevant consideration. The respondent's reliance on section 22(4) and section 7(1) of the Human Rights Act was not available to create a domestic Article 2 investigatory right for pre-2000 deaths.

Procedural posture: appeal from the Court of Appeal ([2005] EWCA Civ 890) to the House of Lords which allowed the appeal by the Commissioner.

Appeal allowed. The House held that the Human Rights Act 1998 does not give domestic effect to Article 2 investigatory obligations in respect of deaths occurring before 2 October 2000, so section 3 cannot be used to reinterpret section 11(5)(b)(ii) of the Coroners Act 1988 to require a full Article 2 compliant inquest for such deaths; a coroner exercising discretion under section 16(3) is not bound to give determinative effect to unincorporated international obligations, and section 22(4)/section 7(1) do not furnish the respondent with a domestic Article 2 right for a pre-2000 death.

Divisional Court: R (Hurst) succeeded and coroner ordered to resume inquest (see [2003] EWHC 1721 (Admin)). Court of Appeal: Commissioner appealed; appeal dismissed (reported [2005] EWCA Civ 890; [2005] 1 WLR 3892). House of Lords: appeal allowed ([2007] UKHL 13).