MrPVRd
LE
From the Express, sister paper to a porn empire!
TCH was obviously an excellent lawyer in practice.....NOT! It appears that now every instance of use of force or death will have to be investigated.
Family wins death probe battle
The family of an Iraqi civilian allegedly unlawfully killed by British troops has won a High Court challenge against the Government's refusal to order an "independent and effective" inquiry into his death.
Two judges ruled in favour of the family of hotel worker Baha Mousa, 26, who was allegedly beaten to death while in custody.
But five other families had applications for judicial reviews rejected.
All six families had claimed that they were entitled under human rights laws to unprecedented investigations into whether troops were guilty of unlawful killing.
Rabinder Singh QC, appearing for the families in the six test cases, had argued that the European Convention on Human Rights applied to Iraqis in the area of south-east Iraq controlled by the British.
The QC submitted the Government was legally obliged to investigate the deaths and whether soldiers had breached articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantee the right to life and freedom from torture or inhuman and degrading treatment.
Lawyers for Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon had argued the convention did not apply to British troops in Iraq as the relevant territory was outside the European jurisdiction.
They contended the Human Rights Act, which incorporated the convention into UK domestic law, was, with rare exceptions, "exclusively territorial" and could only be applied inside UK territory.
Some 30 other similar cases were awaiting the court ruling.
Nobody at the Ministry of Defence was available to comment on the case, and a Downing Street spokeswoman said: "We will be studying the judgment."
TCH was obviously an excellent lawyer in practice.....NOT! It appears that now every instance of use of force or death will have to be investigated.