A fair hearing is not a favour: an English court just quashed a parole decision that skipped one

Michael O'Leary asked the Parole Board for an oral hearing — a chance to be heard in person before decisions about his liberty were made. The Board refused, on paper. This week the High Court in England and Wales quashed that refusal as irrational and procedurally unfair, finding the Board had not explained how contested questions about risk could fairly be settled without hearing from him, and had focused on the likely outcome instead of whether fairness required a hearing. The ruling does not free anyone; it orders an expedited oral hearing, so the decision gets made properly. Fair process, the court reminded everyone, is not a shortcut around rights — it is the right.

SDG 16 · Peace, justice and strong institutions — Mechanism: legal ruling