Watkins v. United Kingdom (Home Office), (2006) 349 N.R. 275 (HL)

• Case Date: March 29, 2006
• Jurisdiction: Canada (Federal)
• Citations: (2006), 349 N.R. 275 (HL)

Watkins v. U.K. (2006), 349 N.R. 275 (HL)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2006] N.R. TBEd. MY.022

Watkins (respondent) v. Home Office (appellants) and others

([2006] UKHL 17)

Indexed As: Watkins v. United Kingdom (Home Office)

House of Lords

London, England

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe and Lord Carswell

March 29, 2006.

Summary:

At issue on this appeal was whether the tort of misfeasance in public office was ac­tionable without proof of financial loss or physical or mental injury, and if so, in what circumstances (i.e., was the tort actionable per se).

The House of Lords held that the tort of misfeasance in public office was never ac­tionable without proof of material damage (i.e., financial loss or physical or mental injury, including a recognised psychiatric illness but not distress, injured feelings, indignation or annoyance).

Damages - Topic 1337

Exemplary or punitive damages - Mis­feas­ance or abuse of public office - [See Torts - Topic 9162 ].

Torts - Topic 9162

Duty of care - Particular relationships - Claims against public officials, authorities or boards - Misfeasance in or abuse of pub­lic office - A prisoner, serving a life sen­tence, sued prison officers for damages for misfeasance in public office, claiming that the officers breached his constitutional rights by opening and reading mail from his solicitors and the court - An issue arose at to whether the tort of misfeasance in pub­lic office was actionable without proof of financial loss or physical or mental in­jury (i.e., whether the tort was actionable per se) - The House of Lords held that the tort of misfeasance in public office, even where constitutional rights were involved, was not actionable per se, even in the con­stitutional context - The court also ex­pressed reluctance to allow an award of ex­emplary damages where a compensatory award could not be made - See paragraphs 1 to 82.

Torts - Topic 9164

Duty of care - Particular relationships - Claims against public officials, authorities or boards - Prison authorities - [See Torts - Topic 9162 ].

Cases Noticed:

Three Rivers District Council et al. v. Bank of England (No. 3), [2003] 2 A.C. 1 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 4 et seq.].

Kuddus v. Chief Contable of Leicestershire Constabulary, [2002] 2 A.C. 122; 273 N.R. 1; [2001] UKHL 29, refd to. [para. 7].

Davis v. Bromley Corp., [1908] 1 K.B. 170, refd to. [para. 11].

Dunlop v. Woollahra Municipal Council, [1982] A.C. 158 (P.C.), refd to. [para. 11].

Turner v. Sterling (1672), 2 Vent. 25, refd to. [para. 12].

Ashby v. White (1703), 1 Smith L.C. 253, refd to. [para. 13 et seq.].

Whitelegg v. Richards (1823), 2 B. & C. 45 (K.B.), refd to. [para. 15].

Henly v. Lyme Corp. (1828), 5 Bing 91; 130 E.R. 995, refd to. [paras. 15, 43].

Rogers v. Rajendro Dutt (1860), 13 Moo. P.C.C. 209 (P.C.), refd to. [para. 16].

Brasyer v. Maclean (1875), L.R. 6 P.C. 398 (P.C.), refd to. [para. 17].

Farrington v. Thomson and Bridgland, [1959] V.R. 286 (Aust. Sup. Ct.), refd to. [para. 18].

Tampion v. Anderson, [1973] V.R. 715 (Aust. H.C.), refd to. [para. 18].

Northern Territory of Australia v. Mengel (1995), 69 A.L.J.R. 527; 129 A.L.R. 1 (Aust. H.C.), refd to. [para. 18].

Garrett v. Attorney General, [1997] 2 N.Z.L.R. 332 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 19].

Rawlinson v. Rice, [1997] 2 N.Z.L.R. 651 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 19].

Odhavji Estate et al. v. Woodhouse et al., [2003] 3 S.C.R. 263; 312 N.R. 305; 180 O.A.C. 201; 2003 SCC 69, refd to. [paras. 20, 73].

R. v. United Kingdom (Secretary of State for the Home Department); Ex parte Leech (No. 2), [1994] Q.B. 198 (C.A.), refd to. [paras. 24 et seq.].

R. v. United Kingdom (Secretary of State for the Home Department); Ex parte Pierson, [1998] A.C. 539, refd to. [para. 24].

R. v. United Kingdom (Secretary of State for the Home Department); Ex parte Simms, [2000] 2 A.C. 115; 246 N.R. 15 (H.L.), refd to. [paras. 24, 61, 73].

R (Daly) v. United Kingdom (Secretary of State for the Home Department), [2001] UKHL 26; [2001] 2 A.C. 532 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 24].

R. v. Lord Chancellor; Ex parte Witham, [1998] Q.B. 575, refd to. [paras. 24, 58].

Attorney General's Reference (No. 3 of 2003), [2004] EWCA Crim. 868; [2005] Q.B. 73, refd to. [para. 26].

J.D. v. East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust et al., [2005] 2 A.C. 373; 337 N.R. 74; [2005] UKHL 23 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 26].

B.B. v. United Kingdom (2004), 39 E.H.R.R. 635, refd to. [para. 26].

Black v. North British Railway, [1908] S.C. 444, refd to. [para. 30].

Raymond v. Honey, [1983] 1 A.C. 1 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 34].

Silver v. United Kingdom (1983), 5 E.H.R.R. 347 (Eur. Ct.), refd to. [para. 34].

Campbell v. United Kingdom (1992), 15 E.H.R.R. 137 (Hum. Rts. Comm.), refd to. [para. 34].

Leech v. Secretary of State for Scotland, [1992] S.C. 89, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Deputy Governor of Parkhurst Prison; Ex parte Hague, [1992] 1 A.C. 58; 141 N.R. 161 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 39].

Nairn v. University of St. Andrews, [1909] A.C. 147 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 60].

Mortensen v. Peters (1906), 14 Scots L.T. 227; 8 F(J) 93, refd to. [para. 61].

Thoburn v. Sutherland City Council, [2003] Q.B. 151, refd to. [para. 62].

Wainwright v. United Kingdom (Home Office), [2004] 2 A.C. 406; [2003] N.R. Uned. 246 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 64].

R. v. United Kingdom (Secretary of State for the Home Department); Ex parte Greenfield, [2005] N.R. Uned. 6; [2005] 1 W.L.R. 673; [2005] UKHL 14, refd to. [para. 64].

Davy v. Spelthorne Borough Council, [1984] A.C. 262, refd to. [para. 71].

Davidson v. Scottish Ministers, [2005] N.R. Uned. 173; [2005] UKHL 74 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 71].

Hunter et al. v. Canary Wharf Ltd.; Hunter et al. v. London Docklands Development Corp., [1997] A.C. 655; 215 N.R. 1 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 72].

Smith New Court Securities Ltd. v. Scrimgeour Vickers (Asset Manage­ment Ltd.) et al., [1997] A.C. 254; 206 N.R. 30 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 72].

Roncarelli v. Duplessis, [1959] S.C.R. 121, refd to. [para. 73].

Rantzen v. Mirror Group Newspapers (1986) Ltd., [1994] Q.B. 670 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 74].

A et al. v. United Kingdom (Secretary of State for the Home Department), [2005] N.R. Uned. 168; [2005] 3 W.L.R. 1249; [2005] UKHL 71 (H.L.), refd to. [para. 80].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Baker, John, An Introduction to English Legal History (4th Ed. 2002), pp. 431, 432 [para. 14].

Clerk, John F., and Lindsell, The Law of Torts (14th Ed. 1975), generally [para. 11].

Clerk, John F., and Lindsell, The Law of Torts (19th Ed. 2006), para. 1.46 [para. 78].

Cruickshanks, E., The case of the men of Aylesbury, 1701-1704, in Jones, C., Party and Party Management in Parlia­ment, 1660-1784 (1984), p. 87 [para. 51].

Fleming, John G., The Law of Torts (9th Ed. 1998), p. 22 [para. 14].

Jones, C., Party and Management in Parlia­ment, 1660-1784 (1984), p. 87 [para. 51].

Maitland, The Forms of Action at Com­mon Law, Lecture VI, generally [para. 78].

Prosser and Keeton, The Law of Torts (5th Ed. 1984), pp. 28 to 31 [para. 78].

Salmond and Heuston, R.F.V., The Law of Torts (21st Ed. 1996), p. 6 [para. 79].

Stair, Institutions of the Law of Scotland (1693), pp. 1, 4, 9 [para. 31].

Counsel:

Philip Sales and Wendy Outhwaite (in­structed by Treasury Solicitor), for the appellants;

Rabinder Singh, Q.C., and Flo Krause (instructed by A S Law), for the respon­dent.

Solicitors of Record:

Not disclosed.

This appeal was heard by Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Walker of Ges­ting­thorpe and Lord Carswell, of the House of Lords.

The decision of the House was delivered on March 29, 2006, when the following opin­ions were filed:

Lord Bingham of Cornhill - see para­graphs 1 to 27;

Lord Hope of Craighead - see paragraphs 28 to 32;

Lord Rodger of Earlsferry - see para­graphs 33 to 66;

Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe - see paragraphs 67 to 76;

Lord Carswell - see paragraphs 77 to 82.