“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?”
BBC Law in Action, 22nd October 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“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?”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 19th September 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
“If you think there are clear rules governing the UK’s use of armed force, you would be wrong.”
The Guardian, 24th July 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Death of WMD dossier scientist contributed to erosion of trust in politics.”
The Guardian, 16th July 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Two Afghan detainees captured by British forces have dropped legal challenges to their detention and can now be transferred to the Afghan authorities, the High Court has heard.”
BBC News, 27th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Smith and Others (Appellants) v The Ministry of Defence (Respondent) and other appeals. So, the Supreme Court has refused to allow these claims to be struck out on the principle of combat immunity. It has also asserted that jurisdiction for the purpose of an Article 2 right to life claim can extend to non-Convention countries, and that the state can owe a positive duty to protect life, even in a situation of armed combat.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 20th June 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“The inquiry into how Tony Blair committed Britain to war in Iraq is set to challenge the official version of events when it reports later this year, The Independent understands. The team led by Sir John Chilcot, which is examining Britain’s part in the US-led invasion, will ‘challenge previous accounts of what happened’, according to senior sources in the inquiry.”
The Independent, 6th March 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Trials at the ICTY concerned political violence and criminality that resulted from disintegration of a federation from which seven new successors states were formed. That process has been defined as a ‘clash of state projects’, where violence happened in areas claimed by two or more parties, or an aspiring state. The war crimes trials at the ICTY that resulted from overlapping territorial claims in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo produced a huge record of trial evidence. Problems in the very small state of Kosovo may be seen as the beginning of the violent process of disintegration, now known loosely as the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The conflict in Kosovo of 1998-9 may be seen as the end of those wars. Kosovo now seeks global recognition as an independent state but faces opposition both as to its international legal entitlements and as to how its history in the conflict should be viewed.”
Lecture by Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice QC
Gresham College, 13th February 2013
Source: www.gresham.ac.uk
“Ken Clarke has blamed Tony Blair’s ‘disastrous war on terror’ for the need to introduce secret courts to protect sensitive intelligence material.”
The Guardian, 19th September 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Related link: The justice and security bill is on the right track
“The decision to keep Iraq war cabinet minutes secret is ‘disappointing’, the UK information commissioner has said.”
BBC News, 1st August 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Fierce opposition in Whitehall to the disclosure of key documents relating to the invasion of Iraq, notably records of discussions between Tony Blair and George Bush, has meant the Chilcot inquiry will not now be able to publish its report for well over a year.”
The Guardian, 16th July 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The recent standoff between two leading judicial lights, Jonathan Sumption and Stephen Sedley, may make for entertaining reading, but don’t be fooled.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 20th May 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Moral objections to the UK’s involvement in Afghanistan do not constitute a defence to an insubordination charge, the Court Martial Appeal Court has ruled. The appellant was not entitled to disobey a lawful command on the ground of conscientious objection.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 13th December 2011
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Damning criticism of Tony Blair and the way his government led Britain into invading Iraq, and continuing rows over the disclosure of secret documents, have delayed the report of the Chilcot inquiry until well into next summer and possibly much later.”
The Guardian, 16th November 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A Royal Navy medic who refused to attend rifle training because of his objection to the war in Afghanistan has lost an appeal against his detention.”
BBC News, 13th October 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Philippe Sands says lawyers bear some responsibility for enabling torture, rendition and the war in Iraq – and must in future be brought to account.”
The Guardian, 5th October 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Afghan civilians compensated for deaths, injuries and property damage caused by British forces received £1.3m last year from the Ministry of Defence – but this was, on average, less than half of what they asked for.”
The Guardian, 28th March 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Jack Straw is to give evidence to the Iraq Inquiry for a third time, as its public hearings come to an end.”
BBC News, 2nd February 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The credibility of the Chilcot inquiry into the invasion of Iraq is ‘on the edge of an abyss’ because of its lack of transparency, a leading international lawyer warned today.”
The Guardian, 14th November 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Members of panel are believed to be concerned about damaging and conflicting evidence revealed since former PM’s last appearance.”
The Guardian, 26th October 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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