R (oao Smith and West) v Parole Board [2005] UKHL 1

Citation: R (oao Smith and West) v Parole Board [2005] UKHL 1

Decision

Smith and West is authority for the principle that the Parole Board has a common law duty to ensure its procedure is fair when considering whether recalled prisoners should be re-released. In order to decide the matter of re-release fairly, an oral hearing may be required. If a prisoner is unfairly refused an oral hearing, his rights under Article 5 may be engaged and he may be entitled to claim damages.