Somerville v Scottish Ministers

The case involved consolidated appeals by four prisoners seeking judicial review of decisions to segregate them. The central legal issues were: (1) whether claims for damages for breaches of Convention rights by Scottish Ministers were subject to the time bar in the Human Rights Act 1998; (2) whether a prison governor's segregation order was an act of Scottish Ministers; (3) when time began to run under the Human Rights Act; (4) whether proportionality was a ground of judicial review; and (5) whether the judge should inspect redacted documents subject to public interest immunity. The House of Lords held, among other things, that claims for damages for breaches of Convention rights by Scottish Ministers were not subject to the Human Rights Act's time bar, that a prison governor's segregation order was not an act of Scottish Ministers, and that the judge should inspect redacted documents. The appeals were allowed in part. The House recalled interlocutors excluding certain averments from probation and ordering that redacted documents be produced for inspection by the judge.