JUSTICE has intervened jointly with the International Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International and REDRESS in this case. Judgment was handed down in the Court of Appeal on 30 October 2014. The Court affirms the right of Mr Belhaj – an opposition commander during the Libyan armed conflict of 2011 and now leader of the Libyan Al-Watan […]
Nunn v Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary
June 13, 2014
JUSTICE intervened by way of written submissions in the UK Supreme Court in this case concerning the duty upon public authorities to disclose material to a convicted person who is investigating a claim of miscarriage of justice. Judgment was handed down on 13 June 2014. The appellant’s solicitors sought access to DNA evidence in order for […]
Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill
March 10, 2014
The Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill will introduce important procedural limitations to the process of judicial review in Scotland. Judicial review allows individual citizens to seek a remedy for the unlawful conduct of public authorities and decision makers. In a country without a written constitution which governs the relationship between the individual and the State, its […]
Jones v UK
January 14, 2014
JUSTICE intervened jointly with Amnesty International, INTERIGHTS, Human Rights Watch and Redress in this case. The European Court of Human Rights handed down their judgment on 14 January 2014. The claim involved four UK nationals who attempted to bring proceedings in the domestic courts against Saudi Arabia and its officials, seeking redress for their alleged torture […]
Scottish Government Consultation on Civil Appeals from the Court of Session
September 11, 2013
JUSTICE responded to the Scottish Government consultation on the proposal to introduce a leave requirement for Scottish cases to proceed to the Supreme Court. Currently no equivalent requirement for leave applies to that applicable in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Instead, appeals must be certified by counsel before being referred. JUSTICE expressed our support for […]
Smith & Others v Ministry of Defence
June 19, 2013
JUSTICE intervened in this case to urge the Supreme Court to find that the relationship between the UK and its forces means that they carry the protection of UK law with them overseas, including the human rights protections in the Human Rights Act 1998. The anomalies created by any other conclusion would, in our view, […]
Making Justice Work: Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill
June 11, 2013
The Making Justice Work: Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill Consultation ran from February to May 2013. It contained proposals to restructure the way civil cases and summary criminal cases are dealt with by the courts in Scotland. The proposals suggest a legal framework for implementing the majority of recommendations of the Scottish Civil Courts Review. The […]
The Government’s new secret evidence proposals: unfair, unjustified and unnecessary
December 19, 2012
A significant part of JUSTICE’s work over the coming months will focus on the response to the Government’s Green Paper on Justice and Security. In Al-Rawi, the Supreme Court held that it did not have the inherent jurisdiction to expand the use of secret evidence procedures in civil proceedings ([2011] UKSC 34). The Government had […]
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs v Rahmatullah
October 31, 2012
The Supreme Court handed down its judgment on 31 October 2012. Mr Rahmatullah was detained by UK forces in Iraq in 2003 and handed over to US forces, subject to a Memoranda of Understanding on the transfer of detainees. He has been held in Afghanistan at Bagram Airbase since some time in 2004. Supported by Reprieve, […]
Nada v Switzerland
September 12, 2012
How should a member state react when a UN Security Council Resolution conflicts with the European Convention on Human Rights? This case concerned the compatibility of asset-freezing under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 with Articles 8 (right to family and private life) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human […]