False imprisonment


Produced in partnership with Laura Giachardi of 42 Bedford Row, Barristers
Practice notes

False imprisonment


Produced in partnership with Laura Giachardi of 42 Bedford Row, Barristers

Practice notes
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Liability

False imprisonment consists of the complete deprivation of liberty without a lawful basis. Claims will usually be made against a public body that exercises detention powers, usually a local police force, the Secretary of State for the Home Department or the Secretary of State for Justice. The detention in question may be by police, immigration authorities or prisons (where there has been a miscalculation of the sentence itself or the parole allowed, resulting in an unlawful period of detention).

Per Lord Bridge in R v Deputy Governor of Parkhurst Prison, Ex p Hague: 'The tort of false imprisonment has two ingredients: the fact of imprisonment and the absence of lawful authority to justify it.'

In Jalloh, the Supreme Court applied a wide definition to the term ‘imprisonment’. The essence of imprisonment was being made to stay in a particular place by a particular person, whether by means of physical barriers, guards or threats of force or of legal process. In this case, the imposition of curfew requirements on a person subject to deportation

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
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Key definition:
False definition
What does False mean?

False may mean 'deceitful' or 'erroneous'.

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