SILVER AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUGDMENT
18
see paragraph 31 above), and to ensure that the discretion to restrict
correspondence, conferred on the authorities by the Rules, is not exercised
arbitrarily, in bad faith, for an improper motive or in an ultra vires manner.
The Court notes in this context that in Raymond v. Honey 1982 1 All
England Law Reports 759, Lord Wilberforce pointed out that it was a
principle of English law that "a convicted prisoner, in spite of his
imprisonment, retains all civil rights which are not taken away expressly or
by necessary implication".
4. Malicious or groundless complaints
56. Sanctions may be imposed on prisoners who commit disciplinary
offences. Under Rule 47, the latter include making "any false and malicious
allegation against an officer" and repeatedly making "groundless
complaints", be it in a petition, correspondence or otherwise. An inmate
who makes an allegation against a member of the prison staff is to be
warned accordingly (Instruction 88/1961, now replaced by unpublished
Instruction 14/1980).
III.
THE APPLICATION IN THE PRESENT CASE OF DOMESTIC
LAW
AND
PRACTICE
ON
THE
CONTROL
OF
CORRESPONDENCE
57. The present case arises from the stopping of 62 letters written by the
applicants, that is to say 7 by Mr. Silver, 4 by Mr. Noe, 3 by Mrs. Colne, 2
by Mr. Tuttle, 14 by Mr. Cooper, 10 by Mr. McMahon and 22 by Mr.
Carne; in the case of Mrs. Colne, the 3 letters are examples of the
correspondence which she was prevented from continuing with Mr.
Williams. In addition, Mr. Noe complained of delay in posting one of his
outgoing letters and Mr. McMahon of the withholding of one of his
incoming letters.
The Government informed the Court that the total number of letters sent
and received by prisoners in England and Wales in a year was of the order
of ten million. An indication of the total volume of the correspondence of
the applicants in this case who were in prison is given by the fact that, in the
under-mentioned periods (being periods for which records are most readily
available), the number of letters written by them and posted by the prison
authorities in the form in which they were written was: Mr. Silver - 419 (20
March 1968 to 2 August 1973); Mr. Noe - 149 (14 November 1972 to 15
April 1975, during which time he was at liberty for almost two years); Mr.
Tuttle - 94 (2 January to 29 December 1975); Mr. Cooper - 299 (8 August
1974 to 24 June 1976); Mr. McMahon - 492 (5 December 1974 to 9
February 1977); Mr. Carne - 480 (14 October 1974 to 16 June 1976).
58.
The provisions under which, pursuant to the law and practice
applicable before 1 December 1981, the 64 letters in question were stopped