Chapter 21 Multiple choice questions

Applications: prisoners' rights
1. Match the general proposition with the case (either Strasbourg or under HRA 1998) that is authority for that proposition.

A duty of care to keep prisoners safe from, for example, violent cell mates.

A special duty of care, under the Osman principle, towards vulnerable prisoners, such as those with mental illness and a suicidal tendency. The duty is, however, discharged if reasonable steps are taken, even if they do not prevent suicide.

A duty to provide a full and effective investigation into prisoner's deaths that may have resulted from unlawful action or prison negligence.

A duty on the courts to provide remedies (such as an injunction against the press) to prevent adverse publicity about prisoners who, on their release, might become the victims of vigilante action (see Chapter 8, 8.3.3.)

2. Article 3 has no impact on the conditions under which 'ordinary' prisoners are held unless those conditions result from deliberately inflicted punishment. Poor conditions resulting from a low level of resources, or even from simple negligence, will not violate Article 3.

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