Sir John Chilcot to set timetable for publication of Iraq war report – The Guardian

Posted October 16th, 2015 in armed forces, inquiries, Iraq, news, reports, war by sally

‘Relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq have claimed a partial victory after Sir John Chilcot announced he would finally set a timetable for his report on the six-year inquiry into the war.’

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The Guardian, 15th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Chilcot report delays blamed on ‘vested interests’ – The Guardian

Posted September 1st, 2015 in delay, disclosure, documents, evidence, inquiries, Iraq, judges, news, reports, war by sally

‘Anger over continued delays in the publication of the report into the Iraq war has swung back against the government with allegations that “vested interests” have tried to suppress evidence.’

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The Guardian, 29th September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Chilcot: Iraq inquiry needs ‘additional assistance’ from Government to complete its work – The Independent

Posted July 27th, 2015 in inquiries, Iraq, news, war by sally

‘The Iraq Inquiry will require “additional assistance” from the Government to complete its work, chairman Sir John Chilcot has said.’

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The Independent, 25th July 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

War inside the court room – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 31st, 2015 in armed forces, foreign jurisdictions, human rights, Iraq, news, war by sally

‘The High Court has ruled that the ECHR applies to situations where Iraqi civilians were shot during security operations conducted by British soldiers. When taken together with the parallel cases being brought against the MOD for breach of its Article 2 obligations towards its own soldiers, it appears increasingly likely that any operation undertaken by the British Army in the future will lead to legal challenges being brought against almost every aspect of its actions pre, during and post any use of military force.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 29th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Woman given suspended sentence for funding jihadi boyfriend in Syria – The Guardian

Posted March 30th, 2015 in news, sentencing, terrorism, war, women by sally

‘An “immature and naive” young woman who was strung along by her jihadi boyfriend wept in court as she was told she would not go to prison for agreeing to send him money.’

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The Guardian, 27th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Human rights law has no place on the battlefield’ – Policy exchange report – The Guardian

Posted March 30th, 2015 in armed forces, human rights, negligence, news, Supreme Court, war by sally

‘Britain should withdraw from the European convention on human rights during wartime because troops cannot fight under the yoke of “judicial imperialism”, according to a centre-right thinktank.’

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The Guardian, 30th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Call for Chilcot to release Iraq documents ‘immediately’ – The Guardian

Posted January 26th, 2015 in disclosure, documents, inquiries, Iraq, news, war by sally

‘Senior politicians have called for the immediate publication of all documents cleared for release by the Iraq war inquiry.’

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The Guardian, 24th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Chilcot report on Iraq war delayed until after general election – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2015 in delay, elections, inquiries, Iraq, news, public interest, reports, war by sally

‘The six-year-long British inquiry into the 2003 Iraq invasion and its aftermath will not be published before the general election, prompting an outcry from those demanding that the long overdue reckoning should be put before the voters.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Chilcot inquiry: Commons debate will try to fast-track publication of Iraq war report – The Independent

Posted January 14th, 2015 in inquiries, Iraq, news, reports, war by tracey

‘A Commons debate on the delayed Iraq War Inquiry will attempt to pressure Downing Street into fast-tracking its publication before the general election in May. David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, led a group of cross-party MPs in winning time for the debate which will be held on January 29.’

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The Independent, 13th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Publication of Chilcot report delayed over criticisms of Blair government – The Guardian

Posted January 7th, 2015 in news, reports, war, war crimes by tracey

‘The long-awaited Chilcot report on the 2003 invasion of Iraq is being held up by rows over criticisms of leading figures in the Blair government and will almost certainly not be published until after the general election, the Guardian has learned. That scenario emerged on Tuesday after former Conservative foreign secretary Lord Hurd described the way the inquiry had dragged on went beyond questions of mere negligence and forgiveable delay. “It is becoming a scandal”, he told peers. He added: “This is not something of trivial importance. It is something of which a large number of people in this country look anxiously for truth.” ‘

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The Guardian, 6th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Can the PM Go to War? – BBC Law in Action

Posted October 22nd, 2014 in internet, news, sentencing, war by sally

‘The House of Lords votes this week on a government proposal to increase the sentence for internet trolling to two years. We ask Baroness Deech QC – herself a victim of trolling – what she thinks of the idea.’

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BBC Law in Action, 21st October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

British Jihadists and treason – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The news last week was that the Foreign Secretary has proposed a revival of a fourteenth century statute in order to prosecute British jihadists who travel to Iraq or Syria to fight. Cries of foul are coming from the usual quarters, and there’s even a protest that the Strasbourg Court would object, which, given the current controversy surrounding that tribunal, may be a good reason in itself for such a move.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st October 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Binning the smoke alarm: Why repealing the Human Rights Act would be the biggest mistake of a generation – Doughty Street Chambers

‘Following plans announced at the Conservative Party’s recent conference to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, Harriet Johnson reminds us why we signed it in the first place, and underlines why it remains such an important safeguard over half a century later.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 3rd October 2014

Source: www.doughtystreet.co.uk

Regina (Hussein) v Secretary of State for Defence – WLR Daily

Regina (Hussein) v Secretary of State for Defence [2014] EWCA Civ 1087; [2014] WLR (D) 361

‘The policy of the Secretary of State for Defence permitting a technique involving the use of shouting by the armed forces when questioning captured persons was compatible with international law and did not inherently give rise to an unacceptable risk of breaching international law, in particular the prohibitions on inhumane treatment, threats, insults, or unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment under the Geneva Conventions.’

WLR Daily, 31st July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

MPs renew demand for Commons votes on use of war-making powers – BBC News

Posted March 27th, 2014 in news, parliament, select committees, war by tracey

‘The government must enshrine in law its commitment to consult the House of Commons before using its war-making powers, MPs have reiterated.’

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BBC News, 27th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Diakité v Commissaire général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides – WLR Daily

Posted January 31st, 2014 in asylum, EC law, international law, interpretation, law reports, war by sally

Diakité v Commissaire général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides (Case C-285/12); [2014] WLR (D) 37

‘An internal “armed conflict” existed, for the purposes of article 15(c) of Council Directive 2004/83/EC, if a state’s armed forces confronted one or more armed groups or if two or more armed groups confronted each other. It was not necessary for that conflict to be categorised as “armed conflict” not of an international character under international humanitarian law; nor was it necessary to carry out, in addition to an appraisal of the level of violence present in the territory concerned, a separate assessment of the intensity of the armed confrontations, the level of organisation of the armed forces involved or the duration of the conflict.’

WLR Daily, 30th January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Marine “A” and the sentencing of battlefield executions – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 21st, 2013 in armed forces, courts martial, murder, news, sentencing, war by sally

“In early November 2013, Marine A (as he is known) was convicted by a court martial of murdering a badly wounded Taliban insurgent by shooting him in the chest.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 20th November 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Chemical Weapons and the Law – BBC Law in Action

Posted October 29th, 2013 in chemical weapons, international law, news, treaties, war by sally

“In this week’s programme Law in Action charts the history of laws forbidding the use of chemical weapons, and reveals how they first emerged in India over 2000 years ago. Today, with Syria now signing up to the chemical weapons convention, could we be on the brink of abolishing chemical weapons for good?”

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BBC Law in Action, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gavin Phillipson: ‘Historic’ Commons’ Syria vote: the constitutional significance (Part I) – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted September 20th, 2013 in chemical weapons, constitutional law, Iraq, news, parliament, war by sally

“Does the recent vote in the House of Commons on military action against Syria have real constitutional significance? Is it the final piece of evidence that there is a constitutional convention that the consent of the House of Commons must be sought before armed force is used? If so, should anything be done to concretise and clarify this Convention? And what is the broader constitutional significance of this episode in terms of the evolution of controls over the prerogative power and its significance for the evolving separation of powers in the UK?”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 19th September 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

How far should our courts venture onto the battlefield? – The Guardian

Posted July 25th, 2013 in armed forces, constitutional reform, news, parliament, select committees, war by tracey

“If you think there are clear rules governing the UK’s use of armed force, you would be wrong.”

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The Guardian, 24th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk