Secretary of State for Justice (Respondent) v Mm (Appellant)

The case involved an appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal that the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health) did not have the power to impose conditions on a conditionally discharged restricted patient amounting to a deprivation of liberty. The appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The issue was whether the First-tier Tribunal or the Secretary of State had the power to impose conditions amounting to detention or a deprivation of liberty upon a conditionally discharged restricted patient. The court held that the Mental Health Act 1983 did not permit either the First-tier Tribunal or the Secretary of State to impose such conditions. The court reasoned that the power to deprive a person of his liberty was an interference with his fundamental right to liberty of the person, and the principle of legality required that Parliament must squarely confront what it was doing and accept the political cost. The court also found that the imposition of such conditions would be contrary to the scheme of the Mental Health Act, which provided in detail for only two forms of detention. The court further held that the patient's continued co-operation was crucial to the success of any rehabilitation plan, and there was always a concern that the patient's willingness to comply was motivated more by his desire to get out of hospital than by a desire to stay in whatever community setting he was placed. The court also noted that the Mental Health Act conferred no coercive powers over conditionally discharged patients, and breach of the conditions was not an automatic ground for recall to hospital. The court held that this appeal must be dismissed. Lord Hughes dissented, arguing that the First-tier Tribunal did have the power to impose conditions amounting to detention or a deprivation of liberty upon a conditionally discharged restricted patient, provided that the loss of liberty involved was not greater than that already authorised by the hospital and restriction orders.