War widows face four-year wait for inquests – Daily Telegraph
“Widows of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are calling on the Government to clear the vast backlog of inquests.”
Daily Telegraph, 21st August 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Category: armed forces
Army officer sues for £1m over spy claim – Daily Telegraph
“A former Paratrooper whose career was destroyed after he was falsely accused of spying is to sue the Government for record damages.”
Daily Telegraph, 19th August 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
MoD to impose gagging order on blogs written by army personnel – The Independent
“The Ministry of Defence has imposed a ban on members of the armed forces using modern technology to communicate about their experiences.”
The Independent, 10th August 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Gurkha-rights test case under way – BBC News
“An immigration tribunal is taking place which could help decide whether 2,000 former Gurkha soldiers in the Army have the right to settle in the UK.”
BBC News, 1st August 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Soldiers to face charges over private’s death – The Guardian
“Three soldiers are to be charged over the death of a young private who collapsed after he was allegedly ordered to take part in a gruelling punishment exercise, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said today.”
The Guardian, 25th July 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
MoD ‘failed’ in allowing captives to sell stories – The Times
“New regulations are to ban members of the Armed Forces from selling their stories, as a committee of MPs said yesterday that allowing those held captive in Iran to do so had been a ‘disturbing failure of judgment’.”
The Times, 23rd July 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Gurkhas handed boost to pensions – BBC News
“Gurkhas will be given a “significant” boost to their pensions, the Ministry of Defence has announced.”
BBC News, 19th July 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Military inquests to get more funds as Iraq death toll rises – The Times
“Ministers bowed to pressure yesterday and promised to provide extra funding for hard-pressed coroners’ courts holding inquests into military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
The Times, 13th July 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Soldier’s widow urges trial of friendly fire commander – The Guardian
“The widow of a British soldier killed by ‘friendly fire’ in Iraq yesterday demanded the prosecution of an officer after a coroner questioned whether he was fit to command troops and described the incident as a ‘completely avoidable tragedy’.”
The Guardian, 13th July 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
MPs to demand inquiry into abuse of prisoners in Iraq – The Independent
“An influential committee of MPs meets tomorrow to decide on holding a full inquiry into whether the Attorney General’s office or the MoD gave soldiers the green light to abuse detainees in Iraq.”
The Independent, 2nd July 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Inquiry into torture of Iraqis by British troops -The Times
“The Attorney-General yesterday demanded an inquiry into the use of torture by British soldiers in Iraq in 2003 which led to the death in custody of Baha Musa, an Iraqi civilian arrested during an arms search. Lord Goldsmith, QC, said it was “inexplicable” that banned techniques were being used when soldiers and officers must have realised they breached the Geneva Conventions.”
The Times, 27th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Appeal court judges clear navy officer jailed for rape – The Guardian
“A Royal Navy chief petty officer who was jailed for five years for the rape of a female colleague on board a warship at sea had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal yesterday.”
The Guardian, 23rd June 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Iraq deaths ‘unlawful killings’ – BBC News
“Five British armed forces personnel were unlawfully killed when their helicopter was shot down in Iraq, a coroner has ruled.”
BBC News, 22nd June 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Inquests into the deaths of servicemen in operations and exercises overseas – Ministry of Justice
“Ministerial statement about the inquests into the deaths of servicemen and women overseas under the jurisdiction of the Oxfordshire coroner, Nicholas Gardiner and the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner, David Masters.”
Ministry of Justice, 20th June 2007
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Lords to look at legality of Iraq war – The Guardian
“Britain’s highest court is to hear a case which could force the government to hold an independent inquiry into the way the attorney general reached his conclusion that the war in Iraq would be lawful. The law lords have agreed to hear an appeal by the mothers of two soldiers killed in Iraq, who argue that the government violated their sons’ right to life by rushing into war on inadequate legal grounds.”
The Guardian, 18th June 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
R (Al-Skeini and others) v. Secretary of State for Defence – WLR Daily
R (Al-Skeini and others) v. Secretary of State for Defence (Aire Centre and 10 others intervening)
S 6(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998 was capable of applying to acts committed by a UK public authority outside its territory where in exceptional circumstances the victim was “within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom” for purposes of art1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
WLR Daily, 13th June 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Regina (Al-Skeini and Others) v. Secretary of State for Defence – Times Law Reports
Regina (Al-Skeini and Other) v. Secretary of State for Defence
House of Lords
“The Human Rights Act 1998 was capable of applying to acts of a United Kingdom public authority performed outside its territory only where the victim was within the jurisdiction of the UK for purposes of article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The Times, 14th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Torture: the 10 claims against the Army – The Times
“Lawyers for Baha Musa claimed today that the case had uncovered evidence that the Government approved the systematic torture of detainees. ”
The Times, 13th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
A “seminal decision” for human rights – The Times
“The House of Lords held by a 4-1 majority that the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) applied to South East Basra in cases where Iraqis have been detained and kept in British Army custody.”
The Times, 13th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Iraqi death covered by human rights laws, say Lords – The Independent
“The European Convention on Human Rights does apply to the case of an Iraqi man who died while in the custody of British troops, the House of Lords ruled today.”
The Independent, 13th June 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
