Upholding the human rights of soldiers based outside of the UK

Whether human rights protections are extended to soldiers based outside of the UK.

Private Philip Hewett was killed on patrol in Iraq when his Snatch Land Rover was struck by an improvised explosive device. His mother, Susan Smith, claimed that his death was the consequence of the failure of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide suitably armoured equipment for soldiers on active service in Iraq. This would be a breach of their obligation to safeguard Private Hewett’s right to life, enshrined in Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

This case came within our core priority aim of upholding the equality and human rights framework.

The Commission intervened using its powers under section 30 of the Equality Act 2006 at the Supreme Court to determine whether human rights protections extended to soldiers based outside of the UK.

The Court ruled that British soldiers killed while serving in Iraq were still under UK jurisdiction and so were entitled to human rights protection that is reasonable and does not interfere with the demands of active service.

The Court held that troops carry the protection of UK law with them while they are on duty by virtue of the fact that they remain under the authority and control of the UK throughout their service. As explained by Lord Hope:

“Servicemen and women relinquish almost total control over their lives to the state. It does not seem possible to separate them, in their capacity as state agents, from those whom they affect when they are exercising authority and control on the state’s behalf.”