The Decaux Principles and the House of Lords

Lord Thomas of Gresford OBE QC

Lord Thomas of Gresford OBE QC asked the following question in the House of Lords on October 23, 2017:

My Lords, I, too, welcome the Minister’s Answer and the prospect of a review. I want to ask her about the United Nations’ 2006 Decaux principles. On 7 June this year, the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, in his report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, called on states to ensure that the jurisdiction of military tribunals is limited to military offences committed by active members of the military, in order to protect an individual’s ordinary rights to fair trial and due process. Does the Minister agree that Section 42 of the 2006 Act, which provides for military tribunals trying civil cases, is inconsistent with principle 8 of the Decaux principles: that military courts may try military personnel only for offences of a strictly military matter?

The text of the entire discussion -- "Reviewing the Armed Forces Act 2006 and serious offences committed by members of the armed forces" -- in the House of Lords can be found here. Video can be found here, beginning at 15:00:50.