ABSTRACT
H O W far do obligations to respect hum an rights travel? D o British troops using m ilitary force outside E urope need to com ply w ith the E uropean C on ven tion on H um an Rights? A n d i f so, do these ob liga tions persist even when B ritish troops are using force alongside nonE uropean countries during m ilitary operations authorized b y the U n ited N ations? T w o ground-breaking judgm ents b y the G ran d C ham ber o f the E uropean C o u rt o f H um an R ights addressed these questions in July 2011: A l-Skein i v United Kingdom (A p plication no. 55721/07) (2011) 53 E .H .R .R . 18 and Al-Jedda v United Kingdom (A p plication no. 27021/08) (2011) 53 E .H .R .R . 23. T he applicants in A l-S keini were relatives o f Iraqi citizens killed b y B ritish soldiers during the post-2003 occupation o f Iraq: three were shot at b y B ritish soldiers, one died during a cross-fire between B ritish soldiers and “ insurgents” , another w as allegedly drow ned in a river after being arrested, and the sixth died o f torture while in detention. T h ey claim ed that the U K had breached its obligation to carry out an independent investigation on their relatives’ death under A rticle 2 E C H R . T he applicant in Al-Jedda was detained by British forces in B asrah for unspecified “ im perative reasons o f security” between O ctober 2004 and D ecem ber 2007. H e was n ot charged w ith any crime, and he claim ed a vio lation o f his A rticle 5 E C H R right n ot to be arbitrarily im prisoned.
