A permanent stay may be granted where extreme delay (38-46 years), combined with the unavailability of witnesses, the applicant's documented cognitive and health impairments, and the impossibility of framing adequate jury directions, renders any trial necessarily unfair. Fitness to stand trial is distinct from the capacity for a fair trial; an applicant may be fit to be tried yet unable to have a fair trial. The significance of memory and concentration difficulties must be evaluated irrespective of whether they are normal for the applicant's age. An applicant for a permanent stay on health/memory grounds should normally provide sworn evidence of the particular difficulties faced.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 19 later cases that cite this judgment.
5 of the 19 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.