Inquest Update: Article 2 ECHR – Supreme Court judgment awaited.

On 22-23 November 2022, Sophie Cartwright KC appeared in the Supreme Court [Lady Rose, Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Sales, and Lord Stephens] for the Defendant Coroner in an appeal concerning whether the death of a disabled woman, who was subject to a DoLS, engaged the State’s obligation to protect life under Article 2 of ECHR, therefore requiring an inquest jury to make findings regarding the circumstances by which the death occurred

At the conclusion of the Inquest, the Coroner decided that the death did not engage the State’s positive obligation to protect life under Article 2 of the Convention. As a result, the jury was not required to consider the circumstances in which she came by her death. The jury gave a neutral factual narrative conclusion that the death resulted from natural causes.

A claim for judicial review of the Coroner’s decision regarding Article 2 was dismissed by the Divisional Court (see here) and the Court of Appeal (see here). Sophie Cartwright KC also appeared before the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court reserved its judgment.