‘A fifth soldier died at an Army base where four recruits were found dead between 1995 and 2002, it has emerged.’
BBC News, 11th June 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Peers behind a cross-party amendment to halt plans to restrict prosecutions of torture and war crimes by British soldiers serving abroad are hopeful of inflicting a high-profile defeat on the government in the Lords on Tuesday.’
The Guardian, 13th April 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A senior army officer has been found guilty of dishonestly claiming almost £50,000 in allowances to pay for his children’s boarding school fees. Maj Gen Nick Welch, who is believed to be the most senior officer to face court martial since 1815, was convicted of fraud following a four-week trial at Bulford military court in Wiltshire. He is due to be sentenced on Friday.’
The Guardian, 25th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Ex-military personnel dismissed from the armed forces because of their sexuality can now reclaim lost medals.’
BBC News, 16th February 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Legislation needs to be clear so that citizens can understand it and parliamentarians know what they are voting for. The need for clarity in legislation is set out as the first principle of Bingham’s definition of the Rule of Law, and the need for intelligibility in legislation is a requirement of the Venice Commission Checklist on the Rule of Law. This is one of the rationales for a parliamentary democracy. The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill is designed to offer legal protections to UK armed forces, and the Ministry of Defence, in relation to overseas military operations. The Bill’s Second Reading took place this week in the House of Lords. But the Bill is disingenuous: in form it is about protecting veterans, whilst in substance it is about protecting the Ministry of Defence.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd January 2021
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘A former senior legal officer for the British Army has spoken out against The Overseas Operations Bill currently on its way through parliament, saying it does nothing to protect soldiers and breaches international law.’
Each Other, 12th January 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘A former British soldier has been jailed for terror offences after sharing military documents that caused a “significant” national security risk.’
The Independent, 17th December 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A former Army Cadet leader has been jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to child sex offences committed between 1981 and 1991.’
The Independent, 25th November 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The family of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old motorcyclist killed outside a US airbase, have begun their court case seeking a ruling that the Foreign Office acted unlawfully in granting diplomatic immunity to the American driver of the car that killed him.’
The Guardian, 11th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Law Society has endorsed parliamentary criticism of proposed legislation aimed at curbing what the government calls vexatious claims against service personnel.’
Law Society's Gazette, 30th October 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Eight Fijian-born soldiers who served with the British army in Iraq and Afghanistan have been rebuffed in their initial attempt to seek a judicial review of the handling of their immigration claims.’
The Guardian, 25th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A trio of threats to the rule of law present themselves in parliament at this time: The Internal Market Bill, the Overseas Operations Bill and the inexorable flow of Health Protection Regulations. Before discussing the nature of the threats, it may be useful to highlight the distinct principles of the rule of law that are concerned. While the concept of the rule of law may have been debated by legal scholars for centuries, I am confident that adherents to both the substantive and formal conceptions of the rule of law would be equally affronted by recent developments in Parliament.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th October 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘A military prosecutor has been accused of serious failings in his handling of sexual assault and rape cases.’
BBC News, 21st October 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Overseas Operations Bill (‘OOB’) aims to prevent what the government has long termed as ‘vexatious legislation’ being brought against members of the UK’s armed forces for their conduct in engagements abroad.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 12th October 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Lord chancellor Robert Buckland has revealed that the government is to commission an independent review of the Human Rights Act.’
Law Society's Gazette, 7th October 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Overseas Operation (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons in March 2020 and is due its second reading on 23 September 2020. In short, the Bill aims to limit prosecution and civil proceedings against military personnel, as well as to enable the UK government to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) during combat operations. The Bill emerges in response to what numerous Defence Secretaries have referred to as the “judicialisation of war”, a term which has been used to resist the application of the ECHR to overseas military combat operations. Despite the Bill being described as a way to protect soldiers from the “industry” of “vexatious claims” and preserve the ability of combat forces to fight wars effectively, there is every suggestion that this is really about precluding, or at least severely limiting, the accountability of the British state in its overseas military deployments.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd September 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘In his article “A Force to be Reckoned with” for the New Law Journal, John Bowers QC reflects on 20 years since the ground breaking case that lifted the ban on gay men and women serving in the military. John acted for one of the applicants in this case, alongside David Pannick QC, Laura Cox, the late Peter Duffy and others.’
Littleton Chambers, 20th August 2020
Source: littletonchambers.com
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