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| Britain |
| British FM: Gov't will change universal jurisdiction law |
| 2010-05-28 |
| British Foreign Minister William Hague said on Thursday that it is absolutely his intention to act speedily to change the universal jurisdiction law and that this is agreed and understood in the coalition government. Speaking at a briefing at the Foreign Office on Thursday, Hague was asked by The Jerusalem Post if he has a timetable for a change to the law, which allows private complaints of war crimes to be lodged against military personnel even if they are not British citizens and the alleged crimes were committed elsewhere. Prior to this month's general elections, Hague said the Conservative party would act speedily to change the law if elected. On Thursday, Hague said he is committed to changing the law as it is "completely unacceptable" that Israeli officials feel they cannot visit the UK. "I hope we will make a decision fairly soon, I can't say when, you can be assured that we are working on it and find it completely unacceptable that someone such as Mrs [Tzipi] Livni feels she cannot visit the UK. "This is a country that wants to play a strong role in the Middle East peace process and for that Israeli leaders and others have to be able to visit the UK. So be in no doubt that we will take action on this but as part of a coalition, we must discuss with our colleagues how to best to do it. "I don't have a timetable but it is absolutely my intention to act speedily to change the law. Of course we have formed a coalition so we have to examine together, and we are examining together, we are already doing that in some detail," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 It was utter stupidity writ large to pass the idiotic law in the first place. I doubt the "rewrite" will accomplish all it's supposed to. Great Britain - and most if not all of the "European Union" are off my travel itinerary, even if I COULD afford it. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2010-05-28 15:05 |
| #2 I dunno. Seems changes are afoot in Jolly Old. Maybe there is hope after all. I wish 'em luck. Perhaps our UK Ranters can fill in the details. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-05-28 14:33 |
| #1 This has bait-and-switch written all over it... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2010-05-28 13:35 |