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Where the application for leave to appeal is to a final court of appeal, even less is
needed to meet the requirements of the right to a fair and public hearing. Thus, in
Charlene Webb v United Kingdom (1997) 24 EHRR CD 73, the Privy Council had
refused the petitioner's application for special leave to appeal without giving reasons.
Her attempt to have the E Ct HR review the case on that ground was ruled
inadmissible by the Commission.
(a)
The Commission began by reminding itself :-
"....… that the manner in which Article 6 para. 1 applies in relation to appeal proceedings
depends on the special features of the proceedings involved. Account must be taken of the
entirety of the proceedings in the domestic legal order and the role of the appeal court therein:
in the case of leave to appeal proceedings, the nature of those proceedings and their
significance in the context of the proceedings as a whole must be considered, together with
the powers of the appellate jurisdiction and the manner in which the proceedings are actually
conducted."
(b)
It noted that :-
"...... where a supreme court refuses to accept a case on the basis that the legal grounds for
such a case are not made out, very limited reasoning may satisfy the requirements of Article 6
of the Convention."
(c)
The Commission's conclusion was as follows :-
"The Commission further notes that special leave to appeal to the Privy Council will only be
given where a case raises a point of ‘great and general importance' or in cases of ‘grave
injustice'. In the context of appeals to the Privy Council, where there has been a full appeal
before the Court of Appeal, it must be apparent to litigants who have been refused leave that
they have failed to satisfy the Privy Council that their case involves either a point of ‘great
and general importance' or a ‘grave injustice'. The factual position is therefore similar to the
position before the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany, where no detailed reasons for
rejection of a case are given."
Notes
At CD74.
Ibid.
Ibid.
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