The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a request to find that a group known as the ‘hooded men’ who were detained during internment in Northern Ireland in 1971 suffered ‘torture’. In 1978, the Court ruled that the UK had carried out inhuman and degrading treatment but fell short of defining this as torture. The Irish government had asked the Court to revise its original judgment. The 14 hooded men said they were beaten, forced to stand in the stress position and deprived of sleep, food and water. One man was blindfolded and thrown from a helicopter, which he was told was hundreds of feet in the air.
22 March 2018
Hooded men rejected by ECtHR
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Gardner Leader—Charlotte Botham & Belinda Sinnott
Law firm strengthens real estate team with two new partners
DR Solicitors—Sarah Cook
DR Solicitors strengthens primary care expertise with appointment of legal director
Womble Bond Dickinson—David Varney
Womble Bond Dickinson appoints David Varney to strengthen digital practice
NEWS
The law offers cohabiting couples surprisingly greater protection after one partner dies than when they separate during life
Four recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decisions have clarified important employment law principles on dismissal, bonuses, trade union activity and tribunal procedure
The Court of Appeal's decision in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP has lifted months of uncertainty for Chartered Legal Executives while prompting a rethink of regulation and supervision
The assisted dying debate returns to Westminster as Lauren Edwards MP reintroduces legislation that stalled in the House of Lords last session despite clearing the Commons
A little-noticed provision of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 has fundamentally expanded corporate criminal liability
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
