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05/05/2004
Papers lodged to seek judicial review of Iraq deaths
The first steps in a High Court battle began today as legal papers were begun served in a bid to win the right for legal compensation for Iraqi families alleging British soldiers killed their relatives.
The documents lodged with the Royal Courts of Justice are the initial stage of the process involved in a bid to seek a judicial review.
The 12 Iraqi families are seeking compensation from the British Government over alleged infringement of human rights legislation.
The MoD has declined to accept liability for the deaths.
The lawyer representing the families said that he anticipated that as many as 17 families would be seeking damages from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Solicitor Phil Shiner, said that in March the British Government had written to advise that an independent inquiry had been turned down and damages denied to the families.
Claiming that vital evidence was being removed in Iraq, he said that an injunction would be sought if the government did not act to protect the evidence.
The MoD is likely to contend that as Iraq is not a co-signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights the legislation does not apply.
However, the legal team for the relatives will hold that the law applies as one state had effective control over another's territory.
It is understood that today's submissions include letters of regret, some from senior officers.
(SP)
The documents lodged with the Royal Courts of Justice are the initial stage of the process involved in a bid to seek a judicial review.
The 12 Iraqi families are seeking compensation from the British Government over alleged infringement of human rights legislation.
The MoD has declined to accept liability for the deaths.
The lawyer representing the families said that he anticipated that as many as 17 families would be seeking damages from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Solicitor Phil Shiner, said that in March the British Government had written to advise that an independent inquiry had been turned down and damages denied to the families.
Claiming that vital evidence was being removed in Iraq, he said that an injunction would be sought if the government did not act to protect the evidence.
The MoD is likely to contend that as Iraq is not a co-signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights the legislation does not apply.
However, the legal team for the relatives will hold that the law applies as one state had effective control over another's territory.
It is understood that today's submissions include letters of regret, some from senior officers.
(SP)
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