NCJ Number
100464
Date Published
1986
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This chapter reviews British court decisions pertaining to inmates' claims against prison authorities brought under both private and public law.
Abstract
If prison management, without legal authority, inflicts injury on an inmate which would be actionable if inflicted by one person on another, the injured inmate may bring a claim in private law as if the prison authorities were a private defendant. A review of relevant cases indicates the courts have rarely held that the special relationship between the inmate and the authorities imposes additional obligations on the latter in private law. Consequently, the majority of private law claims involve the inmate's assertion of a general right against the authorities, e.g., the right of protection against injury through negligence. In these cases, however, it is difficult to establish a breach of duty by prison authorities due to lack of specificity for the inmate's right. An inmate aggrieved by a public authority's behavior may test the validity of the actions in public law. Such claims have been effective only when the challenged decision is viewed by the courts as quasi-judicial. Administrative decisions are rarely challenged by the courts.