§ Lord Vivianasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking as a result of the recent European Convention on Human Rights ruling on military courts martial. [HL3139]
§ Lord BachThe European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in the case ofMorris v the United Kingdom on 26 February. The Court noted that the changes to the court martial system made by the Armed Forces Act 1996 have gone a long way to meeting the concerns it had expressed previously, in the Findlay case. However, it found that there had been a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which concerns the right to a fair hearing, as regards certain aspects of Mr Morris's trial by court martial in 1997.
The Court was concerned about the potential for undue external influence over certain members of a court martial panel; and about the procedures for involving non-judicial authorities in the review of court martial findings and sentences. We are assessing the implications of the Court's judgment for the future conduct of courts martial and whether any changes that may be necessary require the legislation to be amended. At present, Army and Royal Air Force courts martial scheduled for the near future are being postponed. We regret the inconvenience this is causing to accused and their representatives and to witnesses. The possible resumption of courts martial is being reviewed on a week-by-week basis. For the time being, trials in the Royal Navy are continuing in view of the nature of the regulations in that service concerning the position of court martial members.
We shall make an announcement as soon as our assessment of the implications of the judgment has been completed. However, we do not consider that the judgment fundamentally affects the court martial 70WA system, which we intend to retain as an effective and fair means of administering discipline and justice in our Armed Forces.