The nature and scope of the operational duty under ECHR art 2

R (Maguire) v HM Senior Coroner for Blackpool & Fylde and Others [2020] EWCA Civ 738

The Court of Appeal has found that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) art 2 was not engaged in a case concerning the death of a woman with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities who had been living in a care home under standard authorisation granted under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Sch A1. The fact that she was vulnerable and had been deprived of her liberty did not automatically mean that the state’s obligations under art 2 would be triggered.