The Estate of Claudia Edwards Bethel v Attorney General of The Bahamas

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has handed down judgment in The Estate of Claudia Edwards Bethel v Attorney General of The Bahamas [2026] UKPC 26. Ruth Jordan and Suzanne Ter-Minassian acted for the successful respondent, the Estate of Mrs Bethel.

The Board found the State vicariously liable for the false imprisonment and rape of Mrs Claudia Edwards Bethel by a senior immigration officer into whose custody she had been released, and that her earlier arrest and detention by the police had been unlawful.

The decision (of Lord Burrows and Dame Amanda Yip) is the first occasion on which the Board has considered the principles of vicarious liability since Lord Burrows’ UK Supreme Court’s decision in BXB v Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses [2023] UKSC 15.

Applying the close-connection test, the Board endorsed the respondent’s reasoning that the rapes could be regarded as a manifestation of the domination and control he exercised over Mrs Bethel.

Ruth and Suzanne (instructed by Callenders & Co and Theo Solley of Sheridans) appeared along with Fred Smith KC, Dawson Malone, and Doneth Cartwright of Callenders & Co. The Board recorded that the central submission on vicarious liability was “powerfully argued” by Ruth Jordan.

Click here to read a copy of the full judgment.