My Lords, in moving Amendment 16 I will speak also to Amendments 25, 33 and 69 in my name and those of the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, and the noble Lord, Lord Hain. The purpose of these amendments is to ensure adherence to the Good Friday agreement, as there is a fear among human rights organisations that this legislation could undermine the very essence of the agreement, which is central to the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland and relations within the island of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain. The major fear centres on the fact that the
overseas operations Bill would limit direct access to the Northern Ireland courts and remedies for breaches of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to proceedings in connection with overseas operations. I have been contacted by the Committee on the Administration of Justice in Northern Ireland and Rights and Security International. They feel strongly about these issues.
Amendments 16, 25 and 33 have been tabled to ensure that the Bill cannot be interpreted in a way that undermines the requirement in the 1998 Belfast agreement for the Government to complete incorporation into Northern Ireland law of the European Convention on Human Rights, with direct access to the courts and remedies for breach of the convention. On a similar basis, Amendment 69 has been interpreted in a way that underlines the requirement in the 1998 Belfast agreement that, again, the Government should complete the incorporation into Northern Ireland law of the European Convention on Human Rights, with direct access to the courts and remedies for breach of the convention. It is important to emphasise that the Belfast/Good Friday agreement provided that—I shall quote directly:
“The British Government shall complete incorporation into Northern Ireland law of the European Convention on Human Rights with direct access to the courts and remedies for breach of the Convention.”
There is a fear that, as currently drafted, the Bill risks undermining the provision in a number of ways, hence the necessity for these amendments. I hope that the Minister will see their benefit and will consider accepting them tonight.
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First, Part 1 introduces a presumption against prosecution for crimes committed by UK service personnel during overseas military operations from five years after the alleged offence took place. This extends to criminal offences that are also considered violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, such as torture, being committed by state officials—I refer in particular to Article 3. Under the ECHR, there is a procedural obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish acts of torture. The Belfast/Good Friday agreement requires that this procedural obligation be incorporated in the law of the Northern Ireland courts. Does the Bill as currently drafted undermine the agreement by making it harder, and in some cases impossible, in practice for breaches of the convention to be prosecuted?
Secondly, Part 2 imposes an absolute six-year longstop on civil claims for wrongful death or personal injury and claims under the Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporates the ECHR into the domestic law of the UK. This means that, beyond the six-year mark, no one may bring a claim alleging personal injury, wrongful death or a breach of the Human Rights Act arising out of an overseas military operation before the UK courts. As well as undermining the ECHR’s procedural obligations to investigate, prosecute and punish breaches of the convention, this directly undermines the Belfast/Good Friday agreement’s requirement that the UK ensure direct access to the courts and remedies of the convention. Noble Lords will understand that we do not want to see any further unravelling or tampering with the sound provisions of the Good Friday agreement.
This view is also supported by members of the Stormont House agreement model team, which includes academics from Queen’s University Belfast and the Committee on the Administration of Justice in Northern Ireland. In their briefing, they state:
“The 1998 GFA includes a UK-Ireland international treaty deposited with the UN that creates legally binding obligations for the UK. Among the provisions of that Agreement are that: ‘The British Government will complete incorporation into Northern Ireland law of the European Convention on Human Rights … with direct access to the courts, and remedies for breach of the Convention …’ This commitment was legislated for through the Human Rights Act 1998. The commitment”—
I emphasise this—
“to incorporate the ECHR is not qualified to events in Northern Ireland”,
hence the need for these amendments.
The briefing continues:
“Clause 11 of the Overseas Operations Bill would amend the Human Rights Act 1998 to limit direct access to the NI courts and remedies for breaches of the ECHR in relation to proceedings in connection with overseas operations. Clause 11 would limit the courts’ powers of discretion over time limits for bringing claims, both by prescribing time limits and otherwise setting additional factors to which the court must have regard, which will have the purpose and effect of limiting access to the courts and remedies for victims.”
I know that this all sounds fairly technical, but it is crucially important that the agreement’s and the ECHR’s provisions are recognised.
Therefore, all these amendments are necessary to ensure that there is full compliance with the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and the European Convention on Human Rights, in the context of the courts in Northern Ireland, for any offences that may have been committed in overseas operations. I beg to move.