State (Boyle) v Governor of Curragh Military Detention Barracks
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1980 |
| Date | 01 January 1980 |
| Court | High Court |
Health - Accommodation - Whether cell lighted and ventilated in accordance with prison regulations - Remedying of defect during course of hearing - Whether order should issue - Whether regulation relating to lighting and ventilation applied only to punishment cells used for separate and close confinement of prisoners - Meaning of separate and close confinement - Whether formal rules for military custody correspond to rules for civilian custody - Whether administration of rules by soldiers affects legality of detention - Requirements of prison order and discipline - Prisons Act 1972 (No. 7), s. 2 (9) - Prisons Act, 1972 (Military Custody) Regulations 1972 (S.I. No.138), Regs. 6, 7, 66, 68. Prisoner - Transfer by Minister of prisoner from civilian to military custody - Whether prisoner entitled to reasons for transfer - Whether Minister exercising administrative discretion - Whether statutory power had lapsed - Whether prisoner in lawful custody at time of transfer - Prisons Act, 1972 (No. 7), s. 2 (3), 2 (4) - Prisons Act, 1974, (No. 10), s.1.
The prosecutor was convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to penal servitude for eight years. At the time of his trial he was on remand in the Curragh Military Detention Barracks and, in accordance with the provisions of the Prisons Act, 1972, the prosecutor was returned there to serve his sentence. He applied to the High Court for relief under Article 40.4 of the Constitution complaining that the cell in which he was detained was not furnished with a means of communicating with an officer of the prison, which he alleged was in violation of Reg. 6 of the Prisons Act, 1972, (Military Custody) Regulations 1972. Reg. 6 provided that a cell may not be used for the 'separate confinement' of a prisoner unless certified by the Minister for Justice to be, inter alia, of such a size and to be lighted in a manner to enable a prisoner to communicate at any time with an officer of the prison. In evidence it was stated that the Detention Barracks had a bell system which was wrecked and no longer operative. During the course of the hearing, the respondent argued that Reg. 6 applied only to punishment cells and not to the prosecutor who was undergoing ordinary cellular confinement. Towards the end of the hearing the respondent produced a certificate regarding the make-up of the cells in the Detention Barracks. The prosecutor also submitted that...
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