The Lords’ Eerie Swansong: A Note on R. (Purdy) v. Director of Public Prosecutions

Abstract:     
This casenote on R (Purdy) v Director of Public Prosecutions [2009] UKHL 45, argues that the very last decision of the Appeal Committee of the House of Lords was an ill judged, constitutionally unsound intervention in the execution and maintenance of a legislative public policy soundly conceived for the protection of the vulnerable (and for the upholding of a vital element of public morality). The right to private life cannot reasonably be taken to have the implications for prosecution policies that the Lords attributed to it.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 8

working papers series