Othman v United Kingdom
Forum and dates
This case is due to heard by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011. It is an appeal from the House of Lords cases RB and U (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for the Home Department v OO (Jordan) which were heard in October 2008 and decided on 18 February 2009.
Outline of the issues
RB and U and OO, heard consecutively by the House of Lords, concerned assurances given by the Algerian and Jordanian governments that suspects deported from the UK on national security grounds would not be ill-treated. Granted leave to intervene by way of both written and oral submissions, JUSTICE and Human Rights Watch argued that reliance on the assurances was fundamentally unsound given the well-established reputation of both countries for using torture, as well as that it would breach Article 3 ECHR to use closed proceedings to determine the risk of ill-treatment on return.
The House of Lords rejected these arguments in its February 2009 judgment. However, both cases are now on appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
JUSTICE and Human Rights Watch were represented pro bono by Lord Pannick QC, Helen Mountfield, Tom Hickman and Herbert Smith LLP.
Read more
- JUSTICE reacts to Othman v UK (Abu Qatada) (17 January 2012)
- JUSTICE (with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International) submission to European Court of Human Rights (2 October 2009)
- House of Lords judgment (18 February 2009)
- JUSTICE press release - 'Law Lords deportation ruling undermines torture ban' (18 February 2009)
- Human Rights Watch /JUSTICE press release at start of case - 'United Kingdom: Stop Deportations to Risk of Torture' (22 October 2008)
- JUSTICE (with Human Rights Watch) submissions to House of Lords