The British House of Lords, the United Kingdom’s most senior court, unanimously decided on 14 June 2006 in Jones v Saudi Arabia to deny jurisdiction in a claim brought by four UK citizens to seek redress against acts of torture committed against them by a foreign state and its officials. In so doing, the Law Lords have upheld one principle of international law – sovereign state immunity – at the expense of another – the universal prohibition on and duty to suppress torture.

This decision has significant implications for the development of the law on impunity in the United Kingdom and beyond. Firstly, it offers a restrictive interpretation of Article 14 of the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) which obliges State Parties to ensure that their legal systems provide redress for victims of torture encompassing an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation. In particular, by holding that Article 14 does not in effect provide for universal civil jurisdiction their Lordships adopt a position at odds with the body which provides the most authoritative guidance on the interpretation of CAT, the UN Committee against Torture (....)