Judge rules human rights claim against council out of time

A man who claimed Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council breached his human rights cannot pursue his case because of the length of time taken to launch the action, the High Court has ruled.

That ruling has come in a challenge brought by AP - who lacks capacity - through his brother.

AP said his rights to liberty and family life had been infringed when Tameside moved him away from his mother between 2011-13 after she was accused of wilful neglect of another relative for whom she also cared. She was later acquitted.

Tameside said it acted in line with the law as it was at the time and would be at a disadvantage were the case allowed to proceed so long after the events complained about.

Mr Justice King said: “Set against the inequity from the standpoint of the defendant in the grant of an extension of time in this case, I cannot find any countervailing equity of any strength in favour of the claimant being made a grant.

“The claimant will undoubtedly suffer prejudice in not being able to purse his claim whatever view is taken of its underlying merits. But that is inherent in the nature of the limitation beast.”

Turning to fairness as between the parties, the judge said: “I do not consider that the claimant, notwithstanding his lack of capacity, will suffer any injustice (as distinct from prejudice) in being denied the right to bring this claim so long after the facts giving rise to the claim became crystallised (August 2013) and so long after the primary limitation period expired (18 months) expired.”

He said AP’s representatives had had the opportunity to bring his claim within time or shortly after, and if necessary could have sought a protective writ.

The judge concluded: “That he did not do so has to be laid squarely at the door of those looking after his interests and no adequate reason in my judgment has been put forward for their failures, sufficient to make it equitable as between the claimant and the defendant public authority to grant him an extension of time to bring his human rights claim against them.”

Mark Smulian