Many of the leading public law cases of the last decades have been prisoners’ rights cases. Prison litigation continues to raise interesting and important points of law in judicial review claims from the High Court to the House of Lords. It is an area which is subject to continual statutory and judicial intervention, as well as important interventions from the European Court of Human Rights. It is also an area where the Human Rights Act has had a significant impact.

As well as judicial review work, there is a growing need for representation at prison disciplinary hearings and, now that oral hearings are becoming more widespread, Parole Board reviews. Prison life frequently gives rise to other types of civil litigation, including claims for assault, negligence, misfeasance and discrimination on the grounds of race, sex or disability.

Recent developments in the area include the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which has fundamentally restructured the life sentence process following Strasbourg and domestic court decisions.

Matrix offers an experienced prison law team, two of whose members – Tim Owen QC and Alison Macdonald – co-write the leading text on the subject. The team also includes Sam Grodzinski, who has extensive experience of acting both for individual prisoners and for the Home Office. Matrix also offers experience in areas which can overlap with prison law, such as crime and criminal due process, inquests, immigration and mental health.

Members regularly appear in judicial review cases at all levels, civil claims in the High Court and County Court, Parole Board reviews and disciplinary hearings, as well as Strasbourg applications. Interesting recent cases include Ezeh and Connors v United Kingdom (Ben Emmerson QC, Tim Owen QC and Alison Macdonald), Harry Roberts v Parole Board.