June 2026: Supreme Court Overturns Cheshire West – A change to Deprivation of Liberty Law
On 2nd June 2026, the Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment reshaping the legal framework for deprivation of liberty under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), bringing an end to the long‑standing “Cheshire West” approach.
In a Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland [2026] UKSC 16, the Court unanimously departed from its 2014 decision in P v Cheshire West and Chester Council, concluding that the widely applied “acid test” was wrongly decided and inconsistent with Strasbourg case law.
Further information on this is available from 39 Essex Chambers (a legal chambers of barristers and associated staff). They have published early commentary and learning resources on the judgment, including a News Update: Landmark Supreme Court decision redefining Deprivation of Liberty and a Webinar recording: “The End of the Cheshire West Era: The Supreme Court’s New Tests for Objective and Subjective Deprivations of Liberty”.