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The Supreme Court will hear one full appeal and an application for permission to appeal this week, and one judgment will be handed down.  On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the case of R (Smith) v Secretary of State for Defence will be heard in courtroom 1 by a 9 strong bench consisting of Lords Phillips, Hope, Rodger, Walker, Lady Hale and Lords Brown, Mance, Collins and Kerr. The case relates to the death of a British soldier while on active service in Iraq and is likely to be closely followed in the press, as it could have significant implications for those continuing to serve on military operations.  

The issues for the court to determine are: (1) whether a British soldier on military service in Iraq is subject to UK jurisdiction within the meaning of article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”) so as to benefit from the rights guaranteed by the Human Rights Act 1998 while operating in Iraq; and (2) whether the inquest into the soldier’s death must conform to the procedural obligation implicit in article 2 of ECHR. Our case preview is here and the case details on the Supreme Court website can be found here. 

The application for permission to appeal is from a decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of KC (South Africa) v Secretary of State for the Home Department  ([2009] EWCA Civ 630) in respect of an order for the deportation of a South African national after his application for asylum was denied. The application will be heard on Monday morning in courtroom 2 by Lords Phillips, Mance and Clarke.  The issues for the court to determine are: (1) whether Article 14 of Council Directive 2004/83/EC is ultra vires Article 63 EC and whether that issue should be referred to the Court of Justice; (2) whether refugee status may be awarded to those convicted of particularly serious criminal offences; and (3) what the correct sufficiency of protection test is under Article 3 ECHR. The case details on the Supreme Court website can be found here.

The court has also announced that judgment will be handed down on Wednesday in the case of R (on the application of JS (Sri Lanka) (Respondent) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant). The case, previewed here, concerns the application for asylum by a former Tamil Tiger.  The legal issues are the true interpretation of Article 1F(a) of the Refugee Convention, and the extent to which complicity in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity amount to a basis for the exclusion of an individual from the application of the Refugee Convention.
 
There are again no appeals listed for next week in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and no judgments have been announced.
 
Judgments outstanding
 
The following Supreme Court judgments remain outstanding:
 
R (Sainsbury’s) v Wolverhampton City Council, heard 1-2 Feb 2010
R (JF) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 3 -4 Feb 2010
R (SK) (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 10-11 Feb 2010
ZN (Afghanistan) v Entry Clearance Officer, heard 15 Feb 2010 
Roberts v Gill, heard 22-23 February 2010
British Airways v Williams, heard 24-25 February 2010
Inveresk PlC v Tullis Russell Papermakers Ltd (Scotland), heard 1-2 March 2010
Farstad Supply v Enviroco, heard 9 March 2010
 
The following Privy Council judgments are awaited:
 
Prime Minister of Belize v Vellos, heard 18 January 2010
Tibbetts v A-G of Cayman Islands, heard 21 January 2010
Larry Winslow Marshall v Deputy Governor of Bermuda, heard 22-23 February 2010