European Court of Human Rights Decision in Al-Skeini v. Sec. of State for Defence

Hazim Al-Skeini

As we discussed in class last week, the European Court of Human Rights in July of 2011 handed down a judgment with respect to the same case that we examined, the House of Lords decision in Al-Skeini v. Secretary of State for Defence, holding that the Iraqi nationals could make claims under the Convention, and finding that the UK had, among other things, violated the claimants' Art. 2 right to life. There is a summary and commentary on the judgment on the Lawfare blog here, and the decision itself is here. These will help flesh out the very short excerpt in our text.

Please take a look at the decision, and consider whether you still think that the House of Lords got it right (or wrong), and which decision you think better accords with international law principles on jurisdiction, and the rationale underlying those principles.