R v Voisin [1918] 1 KB 531, CCA
Citation:R v Voisin [1918] 1 KB 531, CCA
Rule of thumb 1:Are prisoner officer Guidelines issued by the Home Secretary valid laws which prisoners can rely on? No, they are not laws. However, if it can be shown that they have been clearly breached, such that the spirit of the guidance has been completely breached, then this can be said to be a breach of the law by the prison officer.
Rule of thumb 2:What happens if Government Guidance is not followed by civil servants & departments of Government? If the spirit of the guidance has been clearly breached, then this is a breach of the law.
Judgment:
‘In 1912 the judges, at the request of the Home Secretary, drew up some rules as guidance for police officers. These rules have not the force of law; they are administrative directions the observance of which the police authorities should enforce upon their subordinates as tending to the fair administration of justice. It is important that they should do so, for statements obtained from prisoners, contrary to the spirit of these rules, may be rejected as evidence by the judge presiding at the trial... Where administrative guidance has not been followed, then these are not binding, although if many have been breached, and the spirit has very much been breached, then these together can constitute a breach of the law...’, Lawrence J
Ratio-decidendi:
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.