Parole Board Legal Position Statement: for legal practitioners
A guide for legal practitioners about how the Parole Board handles litigation and the way it deals with judicial reviews.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
Please note:
The Parole Board for England and Wales is currently involved in an ongoing case before the High Court (King’s Bench Division): Marcus Smith v. 1) The Parole Board of England & Wales and 2) The Ministry of Justice (KB-2025-3362).
In those proceedings, we have applied for a preliminary issue hearing to clarify a number of legal questions that have been raised. One of the questions upon which we have sought clarity is whether the Parole Board is liable to pay compensation for a breach of Article 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights, or whether such compensation is payable by the Crown pursuant to Section 9(4) of the Human Rights Act 1998.
The preliminary issue hearing will be listed in November 2026, and we envisage a judgment being given by the end of the calendar year 2026.
Until we have received a judgment on this issue, the Parole Board is unable to engage in pre-action settlement discussions. However, for pre-action letters relating to Article 5 (4) claims for damages, where the Claimant is serving an eligible sentence and the claim is received within the 1-year time limit (section 7(5) (a) HRA 1998), we are proposing entering into a limitation standstill agreement until 26 February 2027.
As per our Legal Position Statement (2021) pre-action letters will need to be sent to Litigation@paroleboard.gov.uk
Parole Board Legal Position Statement 2021
The Parole Board (the “Board”) has reviewed and updated its litigation strategy as of May 2021.
The Parole Board Legal Position Statement 2021 will apply to all new pre action correspondence and claims made against the Board.
The new strategy makes it clear that the Board is a court like body, and that the Board will treat challenges to judicial decisions of the Board in accordance with the relevant law on participation of courts and tribunals in such challenges.
Service
The Parole Board accepts service of letters or proceedings either by email to Litigation@Paroleboard.gov.uk, or by post to the following address:
Litigation Team
The Parole Board for England and Wales
3rd Floor
10 South Colonnade
London E14 4PU
Updates to this page
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First published.
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The Parole Board (the “Board”) has reviewed and updated its Litigation Strategy in light of changes to the Parole Board Rules and the wider caselaw. From 1 August 2019, the Parole Board Litigation Strategy 2019 will apply to all new pre action correspondence and claims made against the Board.
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The Parole Board revised its Litigation Strategy in August 2015. All pre-action Article 5(4) claims which are received on or after 2 September 2015 will be dealt with under the Revised Strategy.