Thursday 1 July 2010

UK Supreme Court Rules Against Extraterritorial Application of Human Rights Law

The new United Kingdom Supreme Court, in R (on the application of Smith) v. The Secretary of State for Defence et al. [2010] UKSC 29, has ruled against the extraterritorial application of human rigthts law, dismissing an applicationby a soldier who had died on duty in Iraq. The judgment itself is a nightmare to understand, with each individual member of the Court writing a separate opinion and no common decision or agreed summary. Fortunately, the Court services have prepared a summary that assists in understanding the ruling. The decision(s) is (are) full of references to the international human rights authorities, including the notorious Bankovic decision of the European Court of Human Rights.
Thanks to Eadaoin O'Brien.

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