Ian Wise QC & Martha Spurrier defend the Supreme Court's judgment in Cheshire West
The judgment of the Supreme Court in Cheshire West [2014] UKSC 19, [2014] All ER (D) 185 (Mar) is a resounding vindication of the human rights of disabled people.
The key outcome of the judgment is that the question of whether a disabled person who lacks capacity to consent to a placement by a public body is deprived of their liberty in their particular living arrangements is an objective one, to be answered by reference to whether they are free to leave and how closely their movement and social interaction is controlled. This means that a deprivation of liberty for a non-disabled person, is also a deprivation of liberty for a disabled person. There can be no doubt that this approach will have—and is already having—profound implications. But it is vital that the implications are not used to defeat the principle: the Supreme Court judgment is a victory for disabled people’s rights. Scarce resources or executive decision making cannot trump those rights, and it is wholly
