In the matter of an Application by Rosemary Bradley for Judicial Review (Appellant)

Permission to Appeal refused

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Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0188

Parties

Appellant(s)

Rosemary Bradley

Respondent(s)

Ministry of Defence

Issue

Does the procedural/investigative obligation arising under article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”) apply to the inquest into the death of the appellant’s son, who was killed by British soldiers in 1986, as a matter of UK domestic law? Did the Judge err in dismissing the appellant’s application for judicial review? Did the Court of Appeal err in dismissing the appellant’s appeal against the Judge’s order?

Facts

The appellant is Rosemary Bradley, the mother of Francis Bradley, who was shot and killed by members of the British Armed Forces on 18 February 1986. While an inquest into Francis’ death was originally held in 1987, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland subsequently exercised his powers under section 14 of the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 to order a fresh inquest in 2010. The inquest commenced in 2023, before HHJ Irvine KC (sitting as a coroner), and has since been concluded. In a ruling dated 24 October 2024, the coroner found that the use of force under scrutiny was lawful. The appellant applied for judicial review seeking to impugn the delays occasioned by the Ministry of Defence which it was submitted breached the appellant’s rights under article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (“ECHR”). In addition, the application of article 2 of the ECHR came into focus owing to the date of Francis’ death (having occurred prior to 1988) and the temporal limit of the Convention in domestic law as explained by the Supreme Court in Re Dalton’s Application [2023] UKSC 36. Accordingly, both at first instance and on appeal, the primary issue was whether the procedural/investigative dimension of article 2 of the ECHR applied to the inquest as a matter of domestic (i.e. UK) law. In the High Court, Humphreys J found that it did not. The Judge held that since Francis’ death occurred in 1986, it fell outside the temporal scope of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”): it occurred more than 12 years before the coming into of the HRA on 2 October 2000. The High Court’s decision was then upheld by the Court of Appeal on 3 June 2025. The appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court.