''Boyce v R'' is a 2004 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case which upheld the law that sets out a mandatory sentence of death for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

in Barbados. The JCPC held in some cases, the law that makes capital punishment mandatory for murder will violate the prohibition on "inhuman or degrading punishment" in the Constitution of Barbados. (This principle is consistent with the 2002 JCPC cases of '' Hughes'', ''

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

'', and '' Reyes''.) However, because (1) the Constitution of Barbados disallows itself to act to invalidate laws that existed prior to the enactment of the constitution, and (2) the law in question pre-dated the constitution, the mandatory death provisions of the law could not be invalidated and must be upheld. In '' Matthew v S'', which was released on the same day, the JCPC applied the same principles to a similar law in Trinidad and Tobago.

Notes

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External links

''Boyce v R''
bailii.org
Boyce et al. v. Barbados - Inter-American Court of Human Rights Project
Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) International and Comparative Law Review’s Inter-American Court of Human Rights Project database and journal. 2004 in United Kingdom case law 2004 in Barbados Death penalty case law Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases on appeal from Barbados Prisoners sentenced to death by Barbados Murder in Barbados Human rights in Barbados

See also

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External links