Detention Without Trial Ruled Unlawful in UK (moved from ATSNN), page 1

The House of Lords today ruled that the detention of foreign terrorist suspects without trial breaks European human rights laws. The ruling passed with a majority vote of eight to one. Newly appointed Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the suspects will remain in custody until the law is reviewed.

news.bbc.co.uk
On Thursday, Lord Bingham - a senior law lord - said the rules were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights as they allowed detentions "in a way that discriminates on the ground of nationality or immigration status" by justifying detention without trial for foreign suspects, but not Britons.

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, in his ruling, said: "Indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial is anathema in any country which observes the rule of law.

"It deprives the detained person of the protection a criminal trial is intended to afford."

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Good to see the House of Lords is still useful for something. It's hard to see how this would have been repealed without them. I'm not convinced this is the end of law though, as the proposed 'review' will probably find someway of keeping it in place.

Related News Links:
www.bloomberg.com
news.scotsman.com
www.alertnet.org
politics.guardian.co.uk

[edit on 16-12-2004 by kegs]