‘The UK could lose its permanent seat on the UN security council unless it resolves the future of the Chagos Islands, the archipelago in the Indian Ocean whose largest island, Diego Garcia, is a US military base.’
The Guardian, 5th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘And so, we reach the end of another year. And what a year it has been. As well perhaps the most tumultuous period in British politics for decades, this year saw the first ever image taken of a black hole, a victory for the England men’s cricket team at the World Cup, the discovery of a new species of prehistoric small-bodied human in the Philippines and signs that humpback whale numbers in the South Atlantic have bounced back thanks to intensive conservation efforts. And the law? Well, rather a lot has happened really. As the festive season draws near, what better way is there to celebrate than to rewind the clock and relive the 10 cases which have defined 2019?’
UK Human Rights Blog, 19th December 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Refusal to return archipelago to Mauritius “lawless” and “reflects colonial mindset” says barrister.’
The Guardian, 22nd November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Britain suffered an embarrassing diplomatic defeat on Wednesday when the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to hand the disputed Chagos islands back to Mauritius.’
Daily Telegraph, 22nd May 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The International Court of Justice has given a near-unanimous opinion that the separation in 1965 of the Chagos archipelago from the then British colony of Mauritius was contrary to the right of self determination, and that accordingly the de-colonisation of Mauritius by the United Kingdom had not been in accordance with international law. The ICJ held that Britain’s continued administration of the archipelago was an internationally wrongful act, which should cease as soon as possible.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th March 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The UK should end its control of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean “as rapidly as possible”, the UN’s highest court has said.’
BBC News, 25th February 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Home Office is threatening to deport a teenage granddaughter of a former Chagos Islander, even though her mother holds British citizenship.’
The Guardian, 2nd October 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Britain has apologised for the “shameful” way it evicted islanders from the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, but insisted Mauritius was wrong to bring a dispute over sovereignty of the strategic atoll group to the United Nations’ top court.’
Daily Telegraph, 3rd September 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘A dispute between the UK and Mauritius over disputed island territory in the Indian Ocean is to be referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).’
BBC News, 22nd June 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Thousands of Chagos islanders, deported from their homeland in the Indian Ocean by the UK government to make way for a US military base in 1971, will not be given the right of return to resettle, the Foreign Office will announce on Wednesday.’
The Guardian, 16th November 2016
Source: www.guardian.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
‘In R (on the application of Bancoult (No 2)) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2016] UKSC 35, the Supreme Court last week dismissed the attempt to set aside the House of Lord’s controversial 2008 decision in R (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2) [2008] UKHL 61. The challenge was grounded in the disclosure of documents in the parallel proceedings of Bancoult No 3 relating to the reliability of a feasibility study into the long term viability of settlement in Chagos Islands.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 6th July 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Chagos islanders, forcibly removed from their homes in 1971, have lost a legal challenge at the supreme court that could have speeded up their return.’
The Guardian, 29th June 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A decades-long battle by the exiled people of the Chagos Islands to be allowed to return home will reach its conclusion on Wednesday.’
The Guardian, 26th June 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘For more than half a century the displaced people of the Chagos Islands have sought to return to their home, a collection of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean that constitutes one of the more far-flung outposts of the British empire.’
The Guardian, 23rd January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Former residents of the Chagos Islands who were forcibly removed from their homeland more than 40 years ago will take their long legal battle to the UK’s highest court on Monday.’
The Guardian, 22nd June 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Rosalind English has summarised this unsuccessful appeal against the rejection of the Chagossians’ claims by the Divisional Court, and I have posted on this litigation arising out of the removal and subsequent exclusion of the population from the Chagos Archipelago in the British Indian Ocean Territory.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 26th May 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The facts of this application for judicial review were set out in David Hart QC’s post on the original permission hearing. To recap briefly, the Plantagenet Alliance, a campaigning organisation representing a group of collateral descendants of Richard III were given the go ahead to seek judicial review of the decision taken by the respondents – the Secretary of State, Leicester Council and Leicester University, regarding his re-interment at Leicester Cathedral without consulting them. More specifically, the claimant’s main case was that there was an obligation, principally on the part of the Ministry of Justice, to revisit or reconsider the licence once the remains had been conclusively identified as those of Richard III.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd May 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The appeal is against the decision of the Divisional Court in Bancoult v. FCO (read judgment and see my post here). Mr Bancoult had said that the decision to create the MPA was flawed by having an improper purpose (to stymie the Chagossians’ claims for resettlement), by inadequate consultation, and being a breach of an EU obligation to promote the economic and social development of the islands. The Court ruled against all these claims.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th April 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“The Divisional Court has now dismissed the claim by Mr Bancoult on behalf of the Chagossian islanders. He had challenged the designation of the waters around the islands as a ‘no take’ Marine Protected Area, i.e. one which could not be fished.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th June 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
© Inner Temple Library 2020