Category: war

Iraq abuse claims ‘often very poor’ says former DPP – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 16th, 2016 in armed forces, disciplinary procedures, human rights, Iraq, law firms, news, reports, solicitors, war, witnesses by tracey

‘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.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th September 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Four British soldiers ‘forced Iraqi teenager into river where he drowned’ – The Independent

Posted September 16th, 2016 in armed forces, death in custody, homicide, Iraq, news, reports, war, young persons by tracey

‘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.’

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The Independent, 16th September 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

War remains inside the court room: jurisdiction under ECHR – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 13th, 2016 in appeals, false imprisonment, human rights, international law, Iraq, news, torture, treaties, unlawful killing, war by sally

‘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.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th September 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

War & peace: the importance of applying the rule of law to the military – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted September 12th, 2016 in armed forces, human rights, law firms, news, war by sally

‘The news last month that Public Interest Lawyers, the firm which brought a host of discredited cases alleging abuse by British serviceman in Iraq, is to be wound up has been met with applause by the press and service community. These claims culminated in the Al Sweady Inquiry which considered allegations of war crimes and abuse by British troops in Iraq in 2004. The allegations were found to be “baseless” and claims of torture and murder were “wholly without foundation” and “entirely the product of deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility” from some Iraqi witnesses. It has prompted calls for the suspension of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the “battlefield” and a general attack on lawyers meddling or challenging affairs involving “war”. That reaction is understandable; however, it would be an enormous mistake to conclude that the law only interferes with the military doing its job.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th September 2016

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Iraq War: Public Interest Lawyers closes down – BBC News

Posted August 15th, 2016 in armed forces, compensation, human rights, inquiries, Iraq, law firms, news, solicitors, war, war crimes by sally

‘The law firm Public Interest Lawyers, which submitted multiple allegations of misconduct by British troops during the Iraq War, is to close.’

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BBC News, 15th August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hundreds of compensation claims against British soldiers could be abandoned after controversial law firm announces closure – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 15th, 2016 in armed forces, budgets, compensation, human rights, inquiries, Iraq, law firms, legal aid, legal representation, murder, negligence, news, solicitors, statistics, torture, unlawful killing, war, war crimes by sally

‘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.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th August 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

How the Iraq Inquiry failed to follow the money – OUP Blog

Posted August 8th, 2016 in corruption, inquiries, international law, Iraq, news, statistics, war, war crimes by sally

‘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

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OUP Blog, 31st July 2016

Source: www.blog.oup.com

Five things you may have missed about the Chilcot inquiry – The Guardian

Posted July 27th, 2016 in armed forces, budgets, corruption, inquiries, Iraq, news, nuclear weapons, parliament, police, statistics, war, weapons by sally

‘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.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A Grand and Disastrous Deceit – London Review of Books

Posted July 22nd, 2016 in armed forces, inquiries, Iraq, news, war by sally

‘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.’

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London Review of Books, 28th July 2016

Source: www.lrb.co.uk

MPs to debate motion declaring Tony Blair in ‘contempt’ of parliament in September – The Independent

Posted July 21st, 2016 in deceit, Iraq, news, parliament, reports, war by tracey

‘MPs are to debate a motion on whether to declare Tony Blair in “contempt” of Parliament because of his role in the Iraq War.’

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The Independent, 20th July 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Chilcot report: Iraq war families crowdfund legal costs – BBC News

Posted July 19th, 2016 in costs, families, Iraq, legal services, news, reports, war by sally

‘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.’

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BBC News, 19th July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sheryn Omeri considers the Chilcot Report and its implications for Blair and victims of war in Iraq – Cloisters

Posted July 12th, 2016 in compensation, inquiries, international courts, Iraq, news, prosecutions, reports, victims, war by sally

‘At 11am on 6 July 2016, the report of the 7-year-long Iraq Inquiry was released.’

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Cloisters, 11th July 2016

Source: www.cloisters.com

We ignored the rule of law – the result was Iraq – The Guardian

Posted July 7th, 2016 in attorney general, illegality, inquiries, international law, Iraq, news, reports, rule of law, United Nations, war by sally

‘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.’

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The Guardian, 7th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Chilcot Report – an Illegal War? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 7th, 2016 in armed forces, attorney general, evidence, human rights, illegality, inquiries, Iraq, news, United Nations, war, weapons by sally

‘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.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th July 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Chilcot’s lessons on going to war must be enshrined in law – The Guardian

Posted July 7th, 2016 in constitutional reform, Iraq, news, parliament, reports, war, weapons by sally

‘A robust and agreed framework should be followed by future cabinets before decisions on military action are taken.’

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The Guardian, 6th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Iraq War’s hard lessons – BBC News

Posted July 5th, 2016 in armed forces, Iraq, news, reports, war by sally

‘Sir John Chilcot’s long overdue, and extremely lengthy report, has the unenviable task of drawing a line under the deeply unpopular Iraq War.’

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BBC News, 5th July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Chilcot inquiry must restore trust in government, says top lawyer – The Guardian

Posted July 4th, 2016 in armed forces, inquiries, intelligence services, Iraq, news, parliament, prosecutions, war by michael

‘One of Britain’s leading experts in international law has said that the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war must deliver a convincing account of the mistakes that led to the 2003 conflict to help restore public trust in politics.’

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The Guardian, 3rd July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

 

House of Lords Sexual Violence in Conflict Committee report: government response – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted July 1st, 2016 in reports, select committees, sexual offences, war, war crimes by tracey

‘The government has now published its response to the report from the House of Lords Select Committee on Sexual Violence in Conflict.’

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official-documents.gov.uk, 30th June 2016

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Chilcot Inquiry: When is the Iraq War report being published and why has it taken so long? – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 29th, 2016 in delay, inquiries, Iraq, news, war by sally

‘The Chilcot Inquiry – also known as the Iraq War Inquiry – was set up in 2009 by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown to examine the UK’s involvement in Iraq.’

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Daily Telegraph, 28th June 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

If the Chilcot report finds the Iraq invasion violated the UN Charter, what are the consequences? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted June 28th, 2016 in inquiries, international courts, Iraq, news, reports, treaties, United Nations, war by sally

‘The Chilcot report, when published next month, will surely criticise some of those responsible for launching the Iraq war on 20 March 2003 and for the suffering and damage which it caused. Lawyers are certainly already mulling over the prospect of litigation, criminal as well as civil.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 27th June 2016

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk