UK to exempt Armed Forces from European convention on human rights

Theresa May wants to introduce an automatic "opt out" from the European convention on human rights (ECHR) for British military involved in future conflicts.

The aim is to "put an end to the industry of vexatious claims" that has seen veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars pursued on allegations of mistreatment and abuse of fighters and prisoners, May said.

The government would introduce a "presumption to derogate" from the ECHR in warfare, it stated.

"Our legal system has been abused to level false charges against our troops on an industrial scale," Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said.

"It has caused significant distress to people who risked their lives to protect us, it has cost the taxpayer millions and there is a real risk it will stop our Armed Forces doing their job."

Since the jurisdiction of the ECHR was extended to conflict zones, the Ministry of Defence has spent more than £100 million on Iraq-related investigations, the government said.

Some 326 cases have been settled with the payment of around £20m in compensation.

Under the rules of the Council of Europe, which oversees the ECHR, it is allowed to derogate from the convention in times of war. Ukraine, France and Turkey gave notice of a derogation in the past few years. Certain convention rights, such as the prohibition against torture, remain in place.

The government's plans have come under fire from civil rights groups.

Calling the European convention the "fundamental, effective safeguard against the abuses of power" during wartime, Liberty said the move would leave soldiers and foreign civilians at risk of human rights abuses.

"Our government has a duty not only to implement it during its own military operations, but to uphold its standards as an example to others -- both friends and foes," Martha Spurrier, the director of Liberty, said.

“To save the Ministry of Defence from the shame of having to admit that civilians suffered abuse on its watch, ministers are prepared to rob our soldiers of this sensible legal framework that both clarifies their use of force and offers them redress when their own rights are breached," she added. "For a supposedly civilised nation, this is a pernicious and retrograde step that will embolden our enemies and alienate our allies.”