On Monday the Court of Appeal handed down its judgement in the case of Private Smith v Ministry of Defence.
Private Smith died of heatstroke whilst serving with the Territorial Army in Iraq in 2003.
The case was not about compensation as such but about the narrow but very important point of whether Human Rights (specifically right to life) apply on the battlefield. In April 2208, the High Court ruled that the MoD had an obligation to minimise risks to the lives of its troops, even while on patrol or the battlefield. The MoD appealed but their appeal has now failed. The MoD has however permission to appeal to the House of Lords in view of the principle at stake.
Unsurprisingly, there are strong views on both sides of the argument. On one side, the view that the right to life has no place on the battlefield, which is essentially a place where people seek to kill and risk being killed themselves, all amidst what is sometimes called 'the fog of war'. Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary put it thus in reaction to the judgement: 'Our troops and commanders have enough to worry about on the battlefield without worrying about where the next legal attack will come from'. On the other side is the argument that the Army needs to catch up with the 21st century. We have moved a long way from regarding our troops as 'cannon fodder'. They have a right to expect that management (i.e commanders) will develop plans that will not put them at any more risk than necessary. Perhaps it would have been a good idea if Lord Cardigan had carried out a full risk assessment before ordering the charge of the Light Brigade. However the actual effect of the judgement is likely to be more incremental. We can expect more open inquests on soldiers' deaths and some test cases - e.g. perhaps on the efficacy of military equipment? - but I doubt that the law would ever take us to the point where military tactics, however foolish in hindsight, will end up in the dock. The generals at the Somme would surely turn in their grave before that happens.
Private Smith died of heatstroke whilst serving with the Territorial Army in Iraq in 2003.
The case was not about compensation as such but about the narrow but very important point of whether Human Rights (specifically right to life) apply on the battlefield. In April 2208, the High Court ruled that the MoD had an obligation to minimise risks to the lives of its troops, even while on patrol or the battlefield. The MoD appealed but their appeal has now failed. The MoD has however permission to appeal to the House of Lords in view of the principle at stake.
Unsurprisingly, there are strong views on both sides of the argument. On one side, the view that the right to life has no place on the battlefield, which is essentially a place where people seek to kill and risk being killed themselves, all amidst what is sometimes called 'the fog of war'. Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary put it thus in reaction to the judgement: 'Our troops and commanders have enough to worry about on the battlefield without worrying about where the next legal attack will come from'. On the other side is the argument that the Army needs to catch up with the 21st century. We have moved a long way from regarding our troops as 'cannon fodder'. They have a right to expect that management (i.e commanders) will develop plans that will not put them at any more risk than necessary. Perhaps it would have been a good idea if Lord Cardigan had carried out a full risk assessment before ordering the charge of the Light Brigade. However the actual effect of the judgement is likely to be more incremental. We can expect more open inquests on soldiers' deaths and some test cases - e.g. perhaps on the efficacy of military equipment? - but I doubt that the law would ever take us to the point where military tactics, however foolish in hindsight, will end up in the dock. The generals at the Somme would surely turn in their grave before that happens.
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