Supreme court MoD ruling 'will have huge impact on military operations'

Defence secretary Philip Hammond says human rights ruling could make it more difficult for troops to carry out operations

The supreme court ruling that the Ministry of Defence can be sued for negligence, that the scope of the Human Rights Act should be extended and the traditional doctrine of combat immunity should be interpreted narrowly, will have a huge impact on military commanders, senior officials made clear on Wednesday.

Anxiety about the effect on discipline, morale, training, and the conduct of future operations, was reflected in a sharp statement issued by the defence secretary, Philip Hammond.

“I am very concerned at the wider implications of this judgment, which could ultimately make it more difficult for our troops to carry out operations and potentially throws open a wide range of military decisions to the uncertainty of litigation,” he said.

Battlefield commanders have already expressed concern about what they considered an unacceptable encroachment of human rights laws in operations against insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have led to a stream of court cases, both criminal and civil.

The supreme court ruled that the families of soldiers killed in Iraq while driving in Land Rovers can sue the MoD under the right to life enshrined …read more