The Court of Appeal refused to postpone the withdrawal of life support until after noon tomorrow. Archie – who has been on life support since April after being found unconscious at home by his mother in Southend, Essex – was due to be withdrawn from treatment at 2pm today. But following interventions by the government and the UN, the Court of Appeal began a hearing at 11am on Monday. Image: Archie has been on life support since April The judges have now refused to grant leave to appeal their decision to the High Court. Archie’s parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, can now ask High Court judges to consider their application for leave to appeal directly. Doctors treating the boy at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, say he is brain dead and continuing life support treatment is not in his best interests.
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The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had asked the UK government to halt the withdrawal of Archie’s life support until it had a chance to review the case. Sir Andrew McFarlane, sitting with Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Moylan in the Court of Appeal, said the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on which the UN panel based its request, was a “non-incorporated international treaty ». Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 1:17 Archie’s mum on son’s ‘execution’ He said: “It is not part of UK law… and it is not appropriate for this court to apply an unincorporated international treaty to the decision-making process.” “Every day that (Archie) continues to receive life-sustaining treatment is against his best interests and therefore staying, even for a short period of time, is against his best interests,” she added. The judge said this was the decision made in the courts of England and Wales. Read more: The boy’s mother appeals for help from the Minister of Health Image: Archie’s parents Paul Battersbee and Hollie Dance Sir Andrew said Archie’s case was “bleak” as “his system, his organs and ultimately his heart are in the process of shutting down”. Edward Devereux QC, representing Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee, argued that the UN panel’s request was “binding” under international law. He argued that any failure to comply with the commission’s request, made under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the UK signed and ratified in 2008 and 2009, would be “flagrant, flagrant and unacceptable violation of INTERNATIONAL LAW”. Magistrates heard Mrs Dance found her son unconscious with a ligature over his head on April 7 after she believed he had taken part in an online challenge.
