False Imprisonment Flashcards
What is the definition of false imprisonment? +case
‘the unlawful imposition of constraint on another’s freedom of movement from a particular place’ (Collins v Wilcock)
What are the elements of false imprisonment?
1) D must intend to confine C
2) A complete restriction of C’s freedom of movement
3) Without lawful justification
Iqbal v Prison Officers Association
false imprisonment requires an intentional act
subjective recklessness will suffice (i.e. D will be liable if they don’t set out to imprison C but it could be a likely consequence of his actions)
What affects the damages C receives?
If they are unaware they are imprisoned they will only receive nominal damages
When will a claim fail?
If C has a means of escape - however, must consider the context, you are on the 77th floor with a window, this isn’t really a means of escape
Walker v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis
Does not matter how long the imprisonment lasts for…
C had been falsely imprisoned for a few seconds during a lawful arrest
Bird v Jones
Must be a complete restraint (NB: therefore, rape may be battery and false imprisonment)
D could not come back the way he came but this was not a complete restriction, thus he had not been falsely imprisoned.
Austin v MPC
the police cordoned off 3000 protesters, C was caught in this and claimed false imprisonment. HL held no, the police were ensuring crowd control and were proportional (consider underlying policy reasons).
R v Governor of Brockhill Prison
Imprisonment doesn’t need to be unlawful - C was lawfully imprisoned however the governor had miscalculated her release date. Her claim for false imprisonment was successful even though he didn’t intend to imprison her for longer.
