Law Lords Restore Faith in British Justice.
Abridged from "Aljazeera"
Evidence obtained under torture abroad cannot be used in British courts, the nation's de facto supreme court, the Law Lords has ruled.
In a unanimous decision, the Law Lords have overturned an earlier majority ruling by England's lower Court of Appeal that such evidence is admissable only if gathered in another country with no British involvement.
Lord Bingham of Cornhill said that English law had regarded "torture and its fruits" with abhorrence for more than 500 years.
"I am startled, even a little dismayed, at the suggestion (and the acceptance by the Court of Appeal majority) that this deeply rooted tradition and an international obligation solemnly and explicitly undertaken can be overridden by a statute and a procedural rule which make no mention of torture at all," Lord Bingham added.
Comment; This is a major victory in regaining the moral high ground in the war against Islamic terrorists. The Law Lords have sent a clear signal to the British government that barbaric tactics cannot be tolerated or given official sanction
Right now the US needs to do something similar, as suspicion is growing all over the world that the US government is committing all sorts of abuses in pursuit of victory.
If we are to beat Islamic terrorism we must always maintain the rule of law and civilised behaviour when dealing with captives, no matter how bad the crime they are accused of. We need to be morally superior to our enemy, or support for the Western cause will wither.
To quote an old saying, the Law Lords have "restored my faith in British justice".
Evidence obtained under torture abroad cannot be used in British courts, the nation's de facto supreme court, the Law Lords has ruled.
In a unanimous decision, the Law Lords have overturned an earlier majority ruling by England's lower Court of Appeal that such evidence is admissable only if gathered in another country with no British involvement.
Lord Bingham of Cornhill said that English law had regarded "torture and its fruits" with abhorrence for more than 500 years.
"I am startled, even a little dismayed, at the suggestion (and the acceptance by the Court of Appeal majority) that this deeply rooted tradition and an international obligation solemnly and explicitly undertaken can be overridden by a statute and a procedural rule which make no mention of torture at all," Lord Bingham added.
Comment; This is a major victory in regaining the moral high ground in the war against Islamic terrorists. The Law Lords have sent a clear signal to the British government that barbaric tactics cannot be tolerated or given official sanction
Right now the US needs to do something similar, as suspicion is growing all over the world that the US government is committing all sorts of abuses in pursuit of victory.
If we are to beat Islamic terrorism we must always maintain the rule of law and civilised behaviour when dealing with captives, no matter how bad the crime they are accused of. We need to be morally superior to our enemy, or support for the Western cause will wither.
To quote an old saying, the Law Lords have "restored my faith in British justice".
posted by Trevor Loudon at
12/09/2005 12:47:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home