A (Appellant) v Essex County Council

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Introduction This essay intends to critically analyse and explore the case of A (Appellant) v Essex County Council (Respondent) [2010] UKSC 33. This is an important case in relation to the development of judicial understanding of Article 2, Protocol 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (A2P1). I will present the facts of the case as reported and detail the relevant questions of law whilst also elucidating on the Ratio Decidendi of the judgement. There are a number of fundamental Human Rights which will be discussed a propos the incorporation of the Act into domestic law, which, when explored, chart the development of legislation around educating children with special needs. There wasn’t unanimity on certain issues within the Supreme Court and Lady Hale’s dissent is discussed in depth, as well as problems with the limitation issue. Using previous case law and judicial precedent, I will show how previous domestic and European cases helped influence the Supreme Courts understanding of the very core of the right to education under A2P1 and the social and financial impact of bringing rights home. The Facts The appellant in this case, a 12 year old boy at the beginning of the alleged rights breach, suffered from autism and severe behavioural challenges which made it difficult for him to participate in mainstream education. In January 2002 A’s parents were requested to remove him from the school, on the grounds of Health and Safety, until other, mutually beneficial arrangements could be made for the provision of his education. Concurrently, it was expected that A would receive an urgent residential medical assessment as well as receiving regular course work and speech therapy from the school. The latter was undertaken in a limited sense, but the former was delayed for a period of 8 months. After A’s assessment, it was recommended that his needs would be better met in a 24

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