Human rights imperialism: Extra-territorial jurisdiction and the Al Skeini case

In: International journal of contemporary Iraqi studies, Volume 5, Issue 3, p. 409-421

Abstract

In the 2007 case of R (Al-Skeini) v. Secretary of State for Defence (2007), the United Kingdom refused to extend rights under the European Convention on Human Rights to civilians shot by British troops who were at that time in occupation of the Iraqi city of Basra. It justified this
refusal on the grounds that it would constitute 'human rights imperialism' to apply European human rights norms to Iraq. This article examines some of the historical resonances of this decision, analysing the reasoning of the House of Lords in the context of Britain's former relationship to
its colonial possessions and its historical scepticism of European Human Rights Institutions.