CP (A Child) v First-Tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation) & Ors
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE TREACY
- LADY JUSTICE ELEANOR KING
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
- Family Law
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
In this case, CP, a child born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) due to her mother's excessive drinking, sought criminal injuries compensation from the CICA. The key issues involved whether a foetus could be 'any other person' under s23 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, and whether the mother’s actions constituted a crime of violence. The Upper Tribunal overturned the First Tier Tribunal's decision favoring CP, concluding that a foetus is not considered 'any other person' and thus no criminal offence was committed under s23 of the Act. The appeal was dismissed.
Judgment
Lord Justice Treacy :
Introduction
The issue raised in this appeal concerns the ability of a child, (CP), to claim criminal injuries compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, (CICA), as a result of being born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) as a direct consequence of her mother’s excessive drinking while pregnant in circumstances where it was asserted that the mother was aware of the danger of harm to her baby being caused by drinking to excess.
FASD is a recognised disorder resulting from grossly excessive drinking during pregnancy. It causes intrauterine growth retardation and limited growth potential. It can cause central nervous dysfunction; a feature of the disorder is that the brain is smaller and particularly affected. Many children with the disorder have severe learning difficulties. Whilst a diagnosis of FASD has been made in this case and is accepted as such, it has not been necessary for this court or the Tribunals preceding this hearing to consider the totality of the effects of FASD in this case. Some of the symptoms will only manifest themselves as the child develops (or fails to do so).
We understand that, whilst in the past applications for criminal injuries compensation for victims for FASD have been accepted under previous schemes, CICA’s present policy is to refuse to pay out such claims. We were told that there are about eighty other applications for compensation which may be affected by this appeal.
This appeal is brought by CP against the decision of the Upper Tribunal granting CICA’s application for judicial review and quashing a decision of the First Tier Tribunal dated 7 th February 2011 that she was eligible for compensation. CP was born in June 2007 to her mother, a young woman with alcohol addiction. In November 2009, an application was made under the CICA scheme on behalf of CP by her local authority. CICA rejected her application on the grounds that CP had not sustained an injury directly attributable to a crime of violence within the terms of paragraph 8(a) of CICA’s 2008 scheme.
After an unsuccessful review, CP appealed to the First Tier Tribunal which allowed her appeal. It found that she had sustained injury which was directly attributable to a crime of violence, namely an offence contrary to s23 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861. CICA then sought judicial review from the Upper Tribunal which issued its decision on 18 th December 2013. The Upper Tribunal allowed