human rights

2013 December

Derogations from the European Convention on Human Rights in Deployed Operations

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The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a key component of the legal framework governing the activities of the British armed forces. In recent years, the Convention’s application to military operations has come under growing criticism, leading commentators to call upon the Government to derogate from the ECHR during deployed operations. It is not immediately clear, however, whether or not derogations are in fact available to the UK in such circumstances. The purpose of this submission is to shed some light on this issue.

2013 October

Better Get A Lawyer: Are Legal Constraints Defeating Britain’s Armed Forces on the Battlefield?

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In October 2013, the Policy Exchange, a British think tank dedicated to the development and promotion of new policy ideas, published a Report entitled ‘The Fog of Law: An Introduction to the Legal Erosion of British Fighting Power’. The Report makes fascinating reading and deserves serious attention. Written by Thomas Tugendhat and Laura Croft, its aim is to explain how the cumulative effect of legal developments taking place over the past decade has undermined the ability of Britain’s armed forces to operate effectively on the battlefield. In this post, I offer some critical thoughts on the report.

2010 September

Protecting Civilians: The Obligations of Peacekeepers / Siobhán Wills

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Protecting Civilians: The Obligations of Peacekeepers. By SIOBHÁN WILLS. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0-19-953387-9 (hb.) £60.00. Peacekeeping as an instrument of international peace and security has been around for a considerable period of time. Leaving aside its early manifestations before the Second World War, peacekeeping under the collective security system of the United