The next quinquennial Armed Forces Bill is due in 2021. In 2017 the Ministry of Defence commissioned a review of the service justice system in preparation for the Bill. This paper explains what the Service Justice System is, the main outcomes of the review and the Government’s response.
Documents to download
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Conditions for using force in humanitarian intervention (96 KB, PDF)
The Government’s legal position on intervention in Syria states that humanitarian intervention without authorisation from the UN Security Council is permitted under international law if three conditions are met:
• strong evidence of extreme and large-scale humanitarian distress;
• no practicable alternative to the use of force; and
• the proposed use of force is necessary, proportionate, and the minimum necessary.
World leaders’ agreed position on the principle of military intervention as a last resort to respond to mass atrocities is set out in the Outcomes Document of the World Summit on the Responsibility to Protect. It gave only very general conditions – peaceful means are inadequate and national authorities are manifestly failing to protect their populations – and did not say what happens if the Security Council fails to authorise such intervention.
Although the conditions set out in the Government’s legal position reflect several other sources on humanitarian intervention, it is not clear whether under current international law meeting such conditions could be an alternative to Security Council authorisation. Could this position contribute to setting a new precedent?
Documents to download
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Conditions for using force in humanitarian intervention (96 KB, PDF)
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This paper provides details and links for ministerial statements and parliamentary debates (from both Houses of Parliament) that cover international affairs and defence.
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After transition the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) provisions no longer apply to the UK and formal cooperation in these areas does not form part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached at the end of December 2020. Instead, the UK Government envisages a flexible, ad hoc approach that will make use of channels of broader dialogue with the EU. How this will work in practice remains to be seen.
