Saudi Torture Case....

[Loosehead]

OK what the h3ll has it got to do with the British courts? I don't understand surely it's a Saudi matter.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5 078118.stm

[buildersmate]

I agree but, as one of the chaps involved said on the 13.00hrs News today, he didn't think he'd get any joy in the Saudi courts. To me it was a waste of time in the UK courts and the only people who were ever going to gain are lawyers. I trust it wasn't done using Legal Aid.

[Loosehead]

Yes but I'm struggling to understand what the British system could have done even if they'd won. What was the actual process they where going through? It says they where "denied the right to sue Saudi officials" but surely you do not need permission from our courts to take action, however unlikely to succeed it may be, in a foriegn country. Am I missing something here?

[Whickerman]

I think that they were trying to sue Saudi through the British courts. (Similar to the case against Lybia in the American courts over the Lockerbie(?) flight)

[buildersmate]

They were denied the right to proceed with their case under English Law because of a piece of legislation called the State Immunity Act, which stops one suing another soveriegn state in the English courts . They were trying to argue they would be suing Saudi individuals, not the Saudi state. I think that was the point of law being argued about.