Garry Cooper and another -v- Secretary of State for Justice (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2023-LON-001603

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

9 November 2023

Before:

Neil Cameron KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

Between:

The King on the application of
Garry Cooper
MB

-v-

Secretary of State for Justice

Order

Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for permission to apply for judicial review (CPR 54.11, 54.12)
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the Acknowledgement of service filed by the Defendant

ORDER by Neil Cameron KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

  1. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is granted.
  2. The application is to be listed for 1 day; the parties to provide a written time estimate within 7 days of service of this order if they disagree with this direction.
  3. The identity of the second claimant shall not be disclosed, and in these proceedings the second claimant shall be known as MB.

Observations

  1. The duties imposed by rules 4(1) and 4(2) of the Prison Rules require the Defendant to consider the interests of both Claimants.
  2. Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 imposes a positive duty the exercise of which must be positively demonstrated. It is arguable that the Defendant has not demonstrated compliance with that duty when making decisions as to the prison to which the First Claimant should be committed.
  3. All four grounds relied upon by the Claimant are closely interrelated and therefore it is appropriate to grant permission on all grounds.

Case Management Directions

  1. The Defendant and any other person served with the Claim Form who wishes to contest the claim or support it on additional grounds shall, within 35 days of the date of service of this Order, file and serve (a) Detailed Grounds for contesting the claim or supporting it on additional grounds, and (b) any written evidence that is to be relied on. For the avoidance of doubt, a party who has filed and served Summary Grounds pursuant to CPR 54.8 may comply with (a) above by filing and serving a document which states that those Summary Grounds shall stand as the Detailed Grounds required by CPR 54.14.
  2. Any application by the Claimants to serve evidence in reply shall be filed and served within 21 days of the date on which the Defendant serves evidence pursuant to 1(b) above.
  3. The parties shall agree the contents of the hearing bundle and must file it with the Court not less than [4] weeks before the date of the hearing of the judicial review. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared and lodged in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall, if requested by the Court lodge 2 hard-copy versions of the hearing bundle.
  4. The Claimants must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than [21] days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
  5. The Defendant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than [14] days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
  6. The parties shall agree the contents of a bundle containing the authorities to be referred to at the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall if requested by the Court, prepare a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle. The
    electronic version of the bundle and if requested, the hard copy version of the bundle, shall be lodged with the Court not less than [3] days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.