‘FOIA remains a potent tool for enhancing transparency on issues of great public importance. Two recent decisions – concerning the Chilcot Inquiry and the post-prime ministerial activities of Tony Blair – are good current illustrations.’
Panopticon, 10th November 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘British soldiers are being investigated over allegations of mistreating two Iraqi detainees in 2003.’
BBC News, 16th October 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The oversight of the conduct of British soldiers in Iraq has been subject of two recent developments. The first is political, as Prime Minister Theresa May has renewed criticism of investigations into allegations of criminal behaviour of British troops. The second is legal, with the Court of Appeal offering clarification as to the role of the ECHR in conflicts abroad. However, comments by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon have since thrown into doubt the future role of the ECHR in conflicts abroad.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 5th October 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Al-Saadoon & Ors v. Secretary of State for Defence [2016] EWCA Civ 811, 9 September 2016. This post concerns the extent of any obligations imposed on the UK to investigate violations of non-refoulement (under Article 3, ECHR) and arbitrary deprivation of liberty (Article 5, ECHR). The non-refoulement issue arose from two individuals whom had been captured by British forces in Iraq claimed they were transferred to American custody and subsequently ill-treated. The Article 5 issue arose from the detention by British forces in Iraq of several individuals who claimed to have had their Article 5 rights violated whilst in British custody.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 20th September 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Theresa May has made clear she will not allow an “industry of vexatious allegations” against British troops over claims of abuse in Iraq. But the Prime Minister refused to bow to pressure and dismantle the Government body, the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), which is handling approximately 1,500 allegations of murder, abuse and torture carried out by British soldiers.’
The Independent, 21st September 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Three servicemen who face being prosecuted for manslaughter over the death of an Iraqi teenager were cleared a decade ago, after it emerged that key witnesses had lied about the claims and were paid expenses in exchange for their testimony.’
Daily Telegraph, 18th September 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The report records the outcome of the fourth investigation into civilian deaths referred to the Iraq Fatalities Investigations by the Secretary of State for Defence.’
official-documents.gov.uk, 15th September 2016
Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk
‘Alleged Iraq abuse claims brought against British troops by a leading human rights law firm have often been made up of poor, inaccurate information, a review by a former director of public prosecutions has said. Sir David Calvert-Smith said investigators tasked with wading through hundreds of alleged abuse claims had found key details such as names, dates and times were often wrong.’
Daily Telegraph, 15th September 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The Ministry of Defence has said it is “extremely sorry” for the death of an Iraqi teenager who drowned after being “forced” into a Basra canal by four British soldiers.’
The Independent, 16th September 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘This is an extremely important judgment from the Court of Appeal on the reach of the ECHR into war zones, in this case Iraq. The CA, with the only judgment given by Lloyd Jones LJ, disagreed in part with Leggatt J.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th September 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The law firm Public Interest Lawyers, which submitted multiple allegations of misconduct by British troops during the Iraq War, is to close.’
BBC News, 15th August 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Hundreds of compensation claims against British soldiers are likely to be abandoned after a controversial law firm accused of “hounding” troops announced that it is closing.’
Daily Telegraph, 15th August 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘In 2007, I published an article that sought to show in detail how the Iraqi economy had been opened up to allow the transformation of the economy and the routine corruption that enabled a range of private profit-making companies to exploit the post-invasion economy. The article argued that the illegal war of aggression waged by a ‘coalition’ headed by George Bush and Tony Blair was tied to a series of subsequent crimes of pillage and occupation. These included the transformation of the economy and the political system that was explicitly illegal under the terms of the Geneva and Hague Convention; and the mobilisation of political and economic instruments to ‘liberate’ the oil. The recently published Chilcot Report recognizes this corruption – and indeed UK joint legal responsibility for the corruption – and yet the evidence for it has been buried. – See more at: http://blog.oup.com/2016/07/iraq-inquiry-chilcot-money/#sthash.UiY9VxUh.dpuf
OUP Blog, 31st July 2016
Source: www.blog.oup.com
‘Much of the furore surrounding the Iraq war report focused on the failings of Tony Blair. But there were other, crucial findings that shouldn’t be ignored.’
The Guardian, 26th July 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Iraq Inquiry, chaired by Sir John Chilcot and composed of five privy councillors, finally published its report on the morning of 6 July, seven years and 21 days after it was established by Gordon Brown with a remit to ‘look at the run-up to the conflict, the conflict itself and the reconstruction, so that we can learn lessons’. It offers a long and painful account of an episode that may come to be seen as marking the moment when the UK fell off its global perch, trust in government collapsed and the country turned inward and began to disintegrate.’
London Review of Books, 28th July 2016
Source: www.lrb.co.uk
‘MPs are to debate a motion on whether to declare Tony Blair in “contempt” of Parliament because of his role in the Iraq War.’
The Independent, 20th July 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Families of some of the British troops killed in Iraq have launched a public crowdfunding appeal to pay for lawyers to potentially sue those responsible.’
BBC News, 19th July 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘At 11am on 6 July 2016, the report of the 7-year-long Iraq Inquiry was released.’
Cloisters, 11th July 2016
Source: www.cloisters.com
‘By acting in defiance of the UN charter, as I warned when I was a Foreign Office lawyer in 2003, we put our reputation at risk. So it has proved.’
The Guardian, 7th July 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘More than 7 years after Gordon Brown first announced that a public Inquiry would be conducted to identify lessons that could be learned from the Iraq conflict, the Chilcot report was finally published on7 July 2016. However, it was worth the wait. This post does not seek to summarise the report: there are many other good overviews (such as the BBC’s ). The report’s executive summary, in particular the key findings section, is also well worth a read. The intention is to cover in this and subsequent posts some of the key legal issues raised by the report. This post considers the relevance of the Chilcot report’s findings to the broader issue of whether Britain’s intervention in Iraq was legal – an issue which was not itself within the remit of the inquiry.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 7th July 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
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