The Court of Protection in the UK secretly jailed a woman for six weeks.
Wanda Maddocks was concerned about the lack of treatment her father was receiving in his care home but when she tried to discharge him, police officers arrived at the care home to arrest her.
Ms Maddocks was not even in Court or represented by a lawyer when she was sentenced to five months imprisonment for being in contempt of court for ignoring the Court’s previous order that her father should not be removed from the care home.
The case began when the grandfather of one was disocvered at home having collapsed. He was placed in a care home and the local authority applied for a legal order which said he must remain there. These can be applied for when relevant officials believe someone could be at risk of harm. An Official Solicitor in charge of their affairs.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 allows the state to exercise draconian powers to take over the lives and property of those deemed unfit to look after their own affairs. The Court of Protection therefore ruled that Mr Maddocks must stay in the care home because the care plans proposed by his children were considered inadequate.
Chaninat and Leeds specializes in international criminal cases in Thailand
Ms Maddocks was released after serving six weeks of her sentence when she agreed to return to the court to purge her contempt by apologising to the judge. The judgement and sentence were however not made public for an additional six months, until Mr Maddocks had sadly passed away.
Secret courts are not uncommon in the UK in child protection cases, but it is thought this is the first decision of this nature, but it has set a disturbing precedent for future UK cases and for Human Rights issues in general in the UK. Under the Human Rights Act 1998 there is a right to family life. By not being present for the court hearing or allowed any form of legal representation, Ms Maddocks was denied any form of due process.
If we find ourselves living in a time when a state can conduct itself in this way, holding secret trials, denying defendants the right of representation, imprisoning people for contempt of court whilst simultaneously releasing dangerous individuals guilty of far worse, it is time to be worried.
Related Law: Thailand Parental Rights
Related Blog Posts: Update on Recent Human Rights Decisions
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