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Disarmament DocumentationBack to Disarmament Documentation THE UNITED KINGDOM'S NUCLEAR DETERRENT: CURRENT AND FUTURE ISSUES OF LEGALITY, Opinion by PHILIPPE SANDS QC and HELEN LAW, MATRIX, commissioned by Greenpeace, November 13, 2006Excerpts Conclusion 102. We have considered three main issues in this opinion: the legality of the UK's strategy on the use of nuclear weapons, the compatibility of the use of Trident with IHL, and the legality of replacing or upgrading the current system. 103. We have concluded that there are serious concerns in all three areas. In particular, we are concerned that the UK has stated a willingness to use nuclear weapons in situations which appear to be outside the doctrine of self-defence as currently recognised under international law. Moreover, it is very difficult to reconcile the indiscriminate and uncontrollable effects of using the Trident system with the UK's obligations under IHL. 104. In relation to the future of Trident, our concerns are twofold. First, we are concerned about the broadening in policy which may be relied on to justify any renewal, replacement or upgrade. Second, we are concerned about the legality of the specific technical options for such renewal, replacement or upgrade. In our view, there are several bases on which expanding either policy or capability may breach the obligations owed by the UK under Article VI of the NPT. Full text is available at: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/8072.pdf Source: Greenpeace, http://www.greenpeace.org.uk. © 2006 The Acronym Institute. |