This case considered permission to appeal in relation to the respondent’s alleged ‘failure” to suspend export licences for the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and the decision to grant new licences for arms exports, communicated to the appellant on 9 Dec 2015.
The Court granted permission to appeal on the basis that it was “arguable that the Secretary of State, as a rational decision-maker, had an obligation to make some realistic overall assessment of whether, and if so to what extent, there had been historic serious violations of international humanitarian law by the coalition in the Yemen. There was no legal or evidential presumption at play. It is arguable the obligation arose from the facts as a necessary part of assessing the future risks”.
Jonathan Glasson QC was involved in this case.