The Gulf
Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) is to launch a legal case against the UK
government for abandoning 13 words that could alter its decisions regarding the
use of military force abroad. The Ministerial Code had been missing the section
that indicated all ministers have an "overarching duty" to fulfil
Britain's international agreements.
Lawyers
from the GCHR said key issues involved decisions about involvement in
international conflict , the UK's adherence to human rights legislation and the
impact of International court rulings on British Law.
According
to GCHR's Melanie Gingell:
“We cannot
call these governments to account if at the same time western governments are
diminishing their commitments to international law and the separation of
powers.
“Removing
international law from the code weakens ministers’ accountability to parliament
and clearly signals a watering down of the UK’s respect for human rights law. I
hope the court will recognise the profound consequences of removing just 13
words from ministers’ duties.”
Former
Government Legal Service Head Paul Jenkins said:
“It is
disingenuous of the Cabinet Office to dismiss the changes to the ministerial
code as mere tidying up. As the government’s most senior legal official I saw
at close hand from 2010 onwards the intense irritation these words caused the
PM as he sought to avoid complying with our international legal obligations,
for example in relation to prisoner voting.”
