Guantanamo Bay - European Parliament action

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 3rd Dec 2003

The European Parliament's 'co-rapporteur' on Guantanamo Bay, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, is urging the British government to support a submission by governments in the EU Council of a 'friend of the court' brief to the US Supreme Court.

This should urge that all the prisoners there should get proper legal rights, and the European Parliament, as the EU's directly elected institution, itself intends to submit such an 'amicus' brief by Christmas.

Sarah Ludford, who is justice spokeswoman for the European Liberal Democrats, said:

"The submission of European views would be much strengthened if the EU Council of Ministers did it on behalf of the European Union as a whole. Tony Blair's government should not obstruct such a decision on the grounds that British nationals may be returned under a deal struck with the Bush administration."

"The EU has a duty to speak up for all the prisoners, including the non-Europeans. Otherwise its claims to pursue a human rights policy will be severely dented."

Yesterday the Italian justice minister Roberto Castelli told the European Parliament's civil liberties committee he was not against the Council making a submission to the Supreme Court, and undertook to speak to his colleague, Council President and Italian Foreign Minister Frattini.

Sarah Ludford added:

"The way forward is not for individual EU governments to strike bilateral deals as favoured partners, not least because application of the rule of law should not be up for negotiation. We see in the case of steel tariffs that if a united EU punches its weight, the US has to take notice."

Notes:

1) These issues are being raised in a debate in the European Parliament today (Wednesday).

2) An 'amicus curiae' (friend of the court) brief is a facility that exists in the Anglo-Saxon legal traditions for a third party who is not directly involved in the case to make a submission if it believes that the court's decision may affect its interest.

3) The 'rapporteurs' (lead members) for the European Parliament on Guanatanamo Bay are Sarah Ludford (UK, Lib) for the civil liberties committee and Ole Andreasen (Denmark, Lib) for the Foreign Affairs committee.