On the evening of Thursday 18th April 2024 Chris McCann Solicitor of Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Advocates successfully challenged the decision of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) to refuse a client in custody leave to attend the burial of his father’s ashes the following morning, 19th April 2024.
Our client, who was a sentenced prisoner, challenged the NIPS refusal to allow him liberty to attend the burial of the ashes in the family grave. The court heard argument from our legal team that the burial of the ashes formed part and parcel of the funeral process and that the Prison Service had failed to take this intrinsic element of the bereavement process into account when refusing the client’s reasonable application for leave to attend the ashes burial.
The firm had previously secured leave for our client to attend the wake, service and cremation of his father 2 weeks previously. our client had returned from that temporary leave without incident in full adherence to his release conditions. The family had always intended to bury the ashes of the family member but a plot for the family grave did not become available until 2 weeks after the cremation.
At the contested judicial review Hearing on 18th April 2024 Kinney J quashed the NIPS decision to refuse Compassionate Temporary Release and directed the prison to release our client to attend the burial the following morning.
Solicitor Chris McCann who dealt with the judicial review application said of the court challenge;
“This landmark challenge which demonstrates the importance of clients in custody seeking legal advice and holding decisions of the NIPS to account. Where important rights such as Article 8, the right protecting private family life, and where the promotion of integration with family as part of rehabilitation for clients in custody, are affected prison service decisions, those in custody should immediately seek legal advice, Such negative decisions can often be erroneous and can be successfully challenged, The court is the ultimate arbitrator regarding the reasonableness of such decisions. This is an important precedent for those in custody seeking to attend the entire burial process of loved ones where it includes cremation and the burial of ashes.”
Contact
Chris McCann
Prison Law Department
Harte Coyle Collins
Solicitors & Advocates
02890-278227
