Court of Appeal upholds ban on future arms sales to Saudi Arabia, but gives Government permission to appeal verdict

Government given permission to appeal Court of Appeal verdict that it acted ‘irrationally’ and ‘unlawfully’ in allowing arms sales to Saudi

  • Government given permission to appeal Court of Appeal verdict that it acted ‘irrationally’ and ‘unlawfully’ in allowing arms sales to Saudi
  • Court of Appeal denied Government application for a ‘stay’ which would have allowed arms sales to continue unabated throughout re-evaluation process of current licences
  • UK has licensed £5 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabian military since war in Yemen began in March 2015

The Court of Appeal has given the UK Government permission to appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the legality of arms exports to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen. This follows a legal action brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), represented by solicitors Leigh Day, against the Secretary of State for International Trade.

In a verdict published on June 20 2019, the Court of Appeal found that it was ‘irrational and therefore unlawful’ for the Government to have allowed the sale of UK-made arms to Saudi forces for use in Yemen without making at least some assessment as to whether or not past incidents amounted to breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The Court ruled that The Secretary of State must now reconsider the export licences in accordance with the correct legal approach.

The Court has rejected the Government’s request for a ‘stay.’ If it had been granted, this would have allowed arms sales continue unabated throughout the reconsideration process. There were 57 applications for export licences under consideration on 20 June 2019. These sales will not be allowed to proceed while the Government re-evaluates the legality of current licences.

The Court has also given CAAT permission to appeal on the additional grounds that it lost on in the June 20 verdict (grounds 2 and 4).

Since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015, the UK has licensed £4.7 billion worth of arms to the Saudi regime, including:

  • £2.7 billion worth of ML10 licences (Aircraft, helicopters, drones)
  • £1.9 billion worth of ML4 licences (Grenades, bombs, missiles, countermeasures)

In reality the figures are likely to be a great deal higher, with most bombs and missiles being licensed via the opaque and secretive Open Licence system.

CAAT’s case was based on reports from numerous reputable sources that Saudi forces had violated International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in their ongoing bombardment of Yemen. Criterion 2c of the Consolidated EU and National Arm Export Licensing criteria says that export licences should not be granted if there is a clear risk the equipment to be exported might be used in a serious violation of IHL.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:

We are disappointed that the Government has been given permission to appeal, but we welcome the Court’s decision to uphold the current ban on arms sales. These arms sales are immoral, and we are confident that the Supreme Court will agree they are also illegal.

Despite the atrocities that have been inflicted in the terrible war on Yemen, this case, and the its response, make clear that the Government will do anything it can to keep arming and supporting the brutal Saudi regime. UK-made weapons have played a central role in creating the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The Government must stop the arms sales and end its role in the destruction.

Rosa Curling, solicitor of law firm Leigh Day, said:

Despite the clear evidence presented by CAAT that the licenses for arms granted by the UK government breach their own rules, despite the overwhelming evidence that the Saudi led coalition is inflicting death and horrific violence in Yemen, the government refuses to accept the court of appeal judgment and today has been granted permission to appeal.

The decision of the court to refuse a ‘stay’ is welcomed. This means no new licence applications can be granted by the government pending reconsideration of whether there exists a “clear risk” that exported weapons “might” be used in serious violation of international humanitarian law, in line with the approach required by the Court of Appeal. We hope the Supreme Court will agree with our client’s arguments that the government’s procedure for granting licences to export arms to Saudi Arabia is unlawful.

ENDS

For further information please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297.

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