The Court of Appeal granted a virtual hearing for 11am on Monday after the government asked it to “urgently consider” a request by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to continue his treatment so the committee could consider his case . The young man was due to take his own life at the Royal London Hospital in east London at 2pm on Monday after a lengthy legal battle in which a High Court judge ruled it was in his best interests. The decision was later upheld by the Court of Appeal and Archie’s family applied to the UN as a last ditch effort to prevent their son’s treatment being stopped, with the committee due to contact the government on Friday. The court is not due to make its decision until 3pm on Monday. At the hearing, lawyers representing Archie’s parents told judges that unless the withdrawal of his life-sustaining treatment was delayed, the court would be “complicit” in a “flagrant breach of international law”. Edward Devereux QC, acting for Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee, asked the court to allow the treatment to continue until the commission could consider Archie’s case, but said he did not know how long that would take. Alternatively, he asked the court to grant an adjournment within the next week to allow time to seek more information from the commission about the likely timeline for its decision. He told the court: “What this court is now considering is whether he is to be complicit in a flagrant breach of international law.” Mr Devereux also argued that it would be “wholly inappropriate” for the court to come to a conclusion without requiring the government to provide its views on the commission’s request. Hollie Dance has written to the Health Secretary Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA However, Fiona Paterson, representing Barts Health NHS Trust, said the government had chosen “not to make submissions but instead to effectively seek the court’s guidance”. He told the court that there was a “decent logic” in that decision, given that the court had all the necessary information, having considered the case previously. He said the UN commission’s request was not binding and added that the matter could be decided by the court and that no further involvement of the government was required. The trust will not take any action to end Archie’s treatment until the Court of Appeal makes its decision on the latest development. Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer at Barts Health NHS Trust, speaking after a court ruling in June. Credit: PA Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, wrote to the family over the weekend to tell them they intended to end treatment on Monday afternoon. Archie’s mother Hollie Dance said the family was “relieved” the government had taken the UN intervention seriously. “This was not a ‘request’ but a temporary order from the UN,” he said. “The stress of being told that Archie’s life support is going to be taken off [at 2pm on Monday] it was horrible. “We are already devastated and not knowing what was going to happen next is excruciating.” Archie’s parents are supported by the Christian Legal Centre’s campaign. Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer of Barts Health NHS Trust, previously said the plan to withdraw medical care would go ahead unless the court decided otherwise on Monday. He said: “Our deepest condolences go out to Archie’s family at this difficult time. We understand that the court hearing will take place on Monday morning and we await the outcome. “The treatment withdrawal plan will proceed unless the court orders otherwise.” The Trust previously said in a letter to Archie’s parents, who are divorced but both live in Southend, Essex, that the withdrawal process would aim to “maintain Archie’s dignity”. The trust said in the letter: “We understand that any discussions around withdrawing Archie’s treatment are very difficult and painful. “However, we want to make sure you and your family are as involved as you want to be.” “You or any family member may wish to lie in Archie’s bed with him or hold him in your arms if this is practically possible,” it added. Archie Battersbee’s father Paul Battersbee Credit: James Manning/PA Ms Dance, speaking ahead of Monday’s court hearing, said this would amount to “extreme cruelty” and a “gross breach of Archie’s rights as a disabled person”. He said: “Archie is entitled to have his life and death decisions, made by NHS and UK courts, reviewed by an international human rights body. “To hasten his death to prevent this would be completely unacceptable.” Archie suffered “catastrophic” brain damage in an accident at home three months ago. His mother found Archie unconscious with a ligature over his head on April 7 and he has not regained consciousness. He believes he may have been participating in an online challenge. Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, believe he is ‘brain stem dead’ and say continuing on life support treatment is not in his best interests. Archie’s parents disagree and say his heart is beating and are being supported by the Christian Legal Centre’s campaign. Lawyers representing the Royal London Hospital’s management trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had sought rulings on what medical moves are in Archie’s best interests. A High Court judge, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, heard the case and concluded, after an earlier hearing, that Archie was dead. However, Court of Appeal judges upheld Archie’s parents’ challenge against the decisions made by Ms Justice Arbuthnot and said the evidence should be reviewed. The case was taken to the High Court, where Mr Justice Hayden ruled that life support could be lawfully withdrawn, saying the evidence showed Archie had suffered “significant injury” to “multiple areas” of his brain and had not “recovered consciousness in no time.” . Following a second appeal by the family, the Court of Appeal judges upheld Mr Justice Hayden’s assessment. This led Archie’s family to look for other ways to overturn the decision, leading them to take the issue to the United Nations. Want a quick and special update on the biggest news? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out what you need to know
