The Interregnum

UK Court of Appeal: Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia Are Illegal (For Now)

UK Royal Courts of Justice

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20 June 2019|The Interregnum|Mohamed Elmaazi

UK Court of Appeal in a historic decision has determined that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are illegal and must be reexamined given the war crimes being committed in Yemen. Though campaigners warn that despite their victory their struggle is far from over.

*UPDATE: This article has been amended to make clear that the Court of Appeal has not declared that UK arms sales must be suspended immediately, on 20 June at 14:18

Featured image by ValP via Wikimedia

In a historic decision on 20 June 2019 the Court of Appeal has just ruled that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia are illegal. This decision reflects a legal battle spanning multiple years and reversed a High Court decision from 2017.

Court of Appeal: UK arms sales to Saudi are “irrational and therefore unlawful”

According to a statement from the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) who were challenging the legality of British weapons sales to Saudi Arabia the three judge panel deemed the weapons sales “irrational and therefore unlawful”.

In the UK weapons sales licences are granted on an open licence basis (ie once they are granted they are rarely re-examined) by the Minister for International Trade.

RCAAT V SSIT Order

The Minister for International Trade must re-examine all arms sales to Saudi

In their judgement the Master of the Rolls, Sir Terence Therton, Lord Justice Irwin, and Lord Justice Singh held that:

“The question whether there was an historic pattern of breaches of [International Humanitarian Law]… was a question which required to be faced”

The Secretary of State for International Trade will now have to reconsider weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in light of this decision.

Sir Terrence reportedly told the gallery that:

“The decision of the court today does not mean that licences to export arms to Saudi Arabia must immediately be suspended.”

This isn’t the end

While CAAT are celebrating its victory they note that their struggle to end UK complicity in the bombing of Yemen is far from over.

CAAT said:

“We celebrate this historic verdict. But these weapons sales should never have been licensed in the first place. It should not take a group of campaigners taking the Government to court to force it to apply its own rules.

It shouldn’t take four years of schools, hospitals, weddings, and funerals being bombed. It should not take tens of thousands of deaths and the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”

Write your MP

Noting that the executive branch of government will likely appeal this decision CAAT are asking that the general public write to their MPs to let them know if they want these arms sales to be terminated permanently.

A new report has also concluded that the Western-backed war in Yemen has killed over 90,000 men, women, and children. Though that calculation is itself a conservative estimate.

The full judgement, Court order, and press release from the Court can be found here:

CAAT V Secretary Of State And Others Open 12 June 2019

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