Judges concluded that the actions of British soldiers in Iraq were covered by
Europe’s human rights convention during the time they were responsible for
the security of parts of the country.
The landmark judgment by the European Court of Human Rights overturns a ruling
by the House of Lords in 2007 that there was no such human rights
jurisdiction surrounding the deaths of five civilians, because it was
outside of the UK’s borders.
The Government must now pay tens of thousands of pounds in damages to the
relatives of the five and lawyers last night warned the "monumental" ruling
could lead to a flood of claims over the treatment of Iraqis by British
troops.
The decision will also further fuel concerns over the influence of European
judges on rulings made by the UK domestic courts.
The case involved incidents which occurred between May 2003 and late June 2004
in the Basra area, during which time the UK was the occupying power and
therefore responsible for security.
Three victims were shot dead or fatally wounded by British soldiers, either on
patrol or carrying out raids.
Another died in an exchange of fire between a British patrol and some
unidentified gunmen.
A fifth victim was allegedly beaten and forced into a river where, a
non-swimmer, he drowned.
In the first four deaths, the British military concluded they fell within the
rules of engagement while in the alleged drowning four soldiers were
acquitted at a court martial.
The European court yesterday ruled that in the "exceptional circumstances"
when UK forces assumed responsibility for security in parts of Iraq, they
remained under the jurisdiction of rules obliging signatory member states
(of the European Convention on Human Rights) to safeguard the right to life
and liberty.
It said failure to conduct independent and effective investigations in to the
deaths therefore breached the human right to life.
The judgment also included the death of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa, for
which the House of Lords had previously ruled the UK did have a
responsibility under the Convention because the victim was in British
military building in Basra at the time.
His family have already been paid f575,000 in compensation.
For the other five, the Lords had concluded the UK did not have a duty because
Iraq was outside of its jurisdiction.
Phil Shiner, from Birmingham-based firm Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), which
represented relatives of the victims, said: "This is a monumental
judgment. Today is a historic day for human rights in Europe and beyond, and
an important day for our clients, many of whom can now force what the MoD
has long-denied them - a public inquiry uncovering the truth about what the
British Army did to them and their loved ones."
PIL challenged the Ministry of Defence to deal with at least a dozen other
cases of alleged unlawful killing, abuse or ill-treatment, and predicted
that the British Army might face litigation over "Operation Raker",
involving a group of Iraqi men loaded into an RAF helicopter. By the time
the helicopter had landed, one of the men was dead and another seriously
injured.
In a related ruling, the European Court said the rights of a seventh man,
Hilal Abdul-Razzaq Ali Al-Jedda, 54, a British and Iraqi national now living
in Istanbul, were breached after being held in a detention centre in Basra
for three years without charge.
Judges ordered the UK Government to pay Mr Al-Jedda damages of f22,400 and
f35,700 in costs and expenses.
The relatives of those who died - apart from Baha Mousa - were each awarded
f15,200 in damages, and a total of f44,700 in costs and expenses.
A UK public inquiry into the case of Baha Mousa is due to deliver its findings
later this year, and the Court of Appeal is due to announce in the next
fortnight whether there should be a single public inquiry into the alleged
ill-treatment of hundreds of Iraqis in UK detention facilities.
An MoD spokesperson said: "We are disappointed by these Strasbourg judgments
and we will consider them in detail before deciding on our next steps.
"It is important to note that the cases were specific to Iraq where we no
longer operate.
"We have set up the Iraq Historic Allegations Team as an independent body in
order to investigate claims of abuse by British service personnel in Iraq.
"The standards of conduct required of UK forces are, and have always been, in
accordance with the relevant international law, and the domestic criminal
law that applies to UK forces at all times. "
