UK Prime Minister Theresa May [official website] announced Tuesday that European human rights laws that have led to “vexatious” claims against British soldiers will no longer apply on the battlefield. The action taken by the government will free armed forces from two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights [text, PDF]: Article 2, the right to life, and Article 5, the right to liberty. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon [official website] announced [IBT report, speech] the intention to derogate from the Convention at the Conservative Party conference. May stated [Daily Mail report] that the move is meant to give confidence to British soldiers, “to do what is necessary to keep us safe and to defend this country.” May added that credible allegations will continue to be investigated.

In September a policing unit in Afghanistan set up to investigate alleged war crimes committed by UK soldiers received around 600 complaints [JURIST report] of ill treatment and abuse occurring between 2005 and 2013. May expressed her concern that the allegations may be false claims against soldiers. In July the International Criminal Court announced [JURIST report] the decision not to prosecute Tony Blair for war crimes related to the 2003 Iraq War. In May the UK Supreme Court unanimously rejected claims [JURIST report] made by Iraqi civilians that they were extrajudicially detained and physically abused by British forces. In 2005 a prosecutor argued at the opening of a much-anticipated [JURIST report] British court-martial that seven British paratroopers patrolling in southern Iraq in 2003 killed an Iraqi civilian and abused others after stopping a truck carrying them three weeks after hostilities had officially ended. This was the first trial of British soldiers for the killing of an Iraqi civilian.