Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill — Clause 6 — “Relevant offence” — Prosecution Required Under International Treaty Obligations — 3 Nov 2020 at 18:00

The majority of MPs voted to apply restrictions on the prosecution of members of the armed forces in relation to their conduct on overseas deployment even where prosecution is required by an international treaty.

MPs were considering the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill. [1]^[2]

The amendment rejected in this vote was:

• Amendment 32, page 4, line 13, at end insert—
• ‘(3A) A service offence is not a “relevant offence” if it is an offence whose prosecution is required under the United Kingdom’s international treaty obligations.’

The rejected amendment was accompanied by the following explanatory statement from its proposer stating:

• This amendment would exclude the prosecution of serious international crimes (such as torture, genocide, crimes against humanity, and certain war crimes) from the limitations otherwise imposed by the Bill.

Offences already excluded from the limitations on prosecution by the Bill as introduced included offences against members of the armed forces, civil servants, and defence contractors as well as a number of sexual offences^[3].

The proposed restrictions only applied to offences which took place more then five years prior to prosecution^[2][3].

The motion rejected by the majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That the amendment be made.

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, Parliament.uk
• [2] Explanatory notes to the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, 18 March 2020, Parliament.uk
• [3] Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, as introduced on 18 March 2020, Parliament.uk

Debate in Parliament |