Blog
14 Maternity Trusts to be Scrutinised as Part of National Investigation
Kirsty Allen
28 April 2017
Dutch businessman sentenced to 19 years for arms trafficking and war crimes
Last week, on 21st April 2017, the Dutch Appeal Court found Guus Kouwenhoven, 74, guilty of war crimes for selling weapons to Liberia’s then President Charles Taylor between 2000 and 2003. In supplying and transporting the weapons, Guus Kouwenhoven was found not only to have breached international sanctions but also to have acted as accessory to the commission of war crimes.
28 April 2017
UK prisons: is there any hope?
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published a report on its visit to the UK in which it sets out ‘serious concerns’ over the safety of inmates and staff in English prisons.
28 April 2017
International Criminal Law – A month in review – March 2017
Colombia
On 13 March 2017, the Colombian Senate approved a constitutional reform to create a special war crimes courts. The transitional justice system will consist of a truth commission, an investigatory unit to find missing people, and a temporary court to try war crimes committed before 1 December 2016. Click here for news on this story.
26 April 2017
A new criminal offence for corporates that fail to prevent human rights abuses?
On 5th April this year the Joint Committee on Human Rights published its report into human rights and business issues in the UK. Entitled “Human Rights and Business 2017: Promoting responsibility and ensuring accountability” the report is important reading for business leaders, lawyers, consumers and NGOs alike.
24 April 2017
When can the High Court quash a police force’s crime-recording decision?
That in summary was the question for the High Court in R (on the application of Pitts) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2017] EWHC 646 (Admin) (see here for the judgment). The Court held that a decision by a police force to record a crime could only be successfully challenged if it was shown to be (in public law terms) unreasonable or irrational. This is a significant threshold to cross. The court will ordinarily afford the relevant police force deference in its decision-making processes in such matters. Claimants should note this and would be advised to proceed cautiously before bringing claims for judicial review against a police force in respect of crime-recording decisions.
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