B and others v Minister of Correctional Services and others (High Court 1997)
1st January 1997, 12:00 pm
Four HIV-positive prisoners sued the Minister of Correctional Services and others for failing to provide them with anti-retroviral treatment claiming the failure amounted to a violation of their right to adequate medical treatment. The Minister of Correctional Services argued that providing anti-retroviral treatment to relevant prisoners was beyond the resources of the prison.

The High Court held that the government was required to provide anti-retroviral treatment to those for whom it has been medically prescribed and that failure to do so would be a violation of their right to adequate medical treatment under the Constitution. Despite the government’s argument of monetary constraints, the Court reasoned that prisoners were entitled to anti-retroviral treatment at government expense because they had no access to resources to obtain alternative medical treatment while in prison and were more likely to be exposed to opportunistic infections while in prison.

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