James Goudie KC acted for Fazia Ali in her case before the European Court of Human Rights, in which Judgment was given on 20 October 2015, and which establishes, contrary to the decisions of the Court of appeal and the UK Supreme Court, the important point of principle that Ms Ali’s right to be provided with accommodation, under the homelessness legislation in Part VII of the Housing Act 1996, is a “civil right” for the purposes of Article 6 of the ECHR. She was therefore entitled to a fair hearing before an “independent and impartial tribunal”. However, an appeal to the County Court from the local authority’s decision on judicial review principles is judicial scrutiny of sufficient scope to satisfy the requirements of Article 6.
