Regina (Abbasi and Juma) v. Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Secretary of State for the Home Department

Abstract

Relationship of international law and municipal law — In general — Whether rights arising between States on plane of international law enforceable in municipal courts — Treaties — Whether forming part of United Kingdom law — Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 1949 — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Consular conventions — Justiciability — Whether courts of one State entitled to determine rights and obligations of another State under international agreements — Whether decisions regarding foreign policy subject to judicial review

Consular relations — Protection of nationals — Applicable law — Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 — Whether superseding bilateral convention between United Kingdom and United States of America — Right of consular access — Whether United Kingdom entitled to consular access to British citizen detained by United States authorities at Guantanamo Bay — Right to legal representation

Human rights — Scope of application of human rights treaties — Whether obligations of State under human rights treaty confined to legal space of that State — Whether extending to detainees held by another State — Detainees’ rights — Legal representation — Questioning of suspects

War and armed conflict — Prisoners of war — Terrorism — Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 1949 — Whether applicable to terrorist suspects detained by United States of America after capture in Afghanistan — The law of England