R v Hughes

For the Canadian "right to food" trial, see R v Hughes (Canada).

R v Hughes
Arms of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Court	Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Full case name	The Queen, Appellant v Peter Hughes, Respondent
Decided	11 March 2002
Citations	[2002] UKPC 12, [2002] 2 AC 259, [2002] 2 WLR 1058
Case history
Prior action	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (from Saint Lucia)
Case opinions
Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
Keywords
Capital punishment; inhuman or degrading punishment

R v Hughes is a 2002 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case in which it was held that it was unconstitutional in Saint Lucia for capital punishment to be the mandatory sentence for murder.^[1] The JCPC held that because the Constitution of Saint Lucia prohibits "inhuman or degrading punishment", following a murder conviction, a trial judge must have discretion to impose a lesser penalty than death by hanging; capital punishment may be applied only in those cases that contain aggravating factors as compared to other murder cases.

The case was decided with Reyes v R and Fox v R, cases on the same issue on appeal from Belize and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

See also

• Bowe v R
• Boyce v R
• Matthew v S

References

1. Roe, Thomas (2002). "Human Rights and the Mandatory Death Penalty in the Privy Council". The Cambridge Law Journal. 61 (3): 505–508. ISSN 0008-1973.

External links

• R v Hughes, bailii.org