Prison case dismissed as High Court rules no breach of human rights or duty of care

The Department of Home Affairs has 'welcomed' the judgement of a case relating to temporary measures put in place at the Island's Prison during the pandemic.

It come as claimant Mr Mellor alleged the department had breached their human rights and duty of care.

Mr Mellor was detained in B wing of the Prison in April 2020, while it was the induction wing for new admissions and operating under a different regime due to the threat of coronavirus.

During this time, all new admissions were to be isolated for 14 days, with limited time outside and access to showers.

Multiple people brought a case to the DHA after experiencing this, with Mr Mellor being the only one who brought it to court.

The case has now been dismissed as the High Court rules there was no breach of human rights or the duty of care.

The judgement noted that the regime introduced at the Prison 'held the legitimate objective to protect incoming and existing prisoners and staff.'

The department comments that 'as the only prison on Island, robust measures were needed to ensure its continued safe and secure operation.' 

You can read the full judgement here.