R. (on the application of Abbasi) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2002] EWCA Civ 1598, (2002)

Facts:
  • The first claimant was a British national who had been captured by the United States forces in Afghanistan and detained in Guantanamo Bay as an 'enemy combatant'
  • He was deprived of access to court proceedings and legal advice, and applied for judicial review in the UK seeking to compel the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs either to intervene with the US government or alternatively to explain the omission to do so

Issue:
  • Whether the court had jurisdiction to review the decision by the Secretary of State not to intervene
  • Whether the UK government had any duty to protect the claimant as one of its citizens

Held:
  • The Court could review the decisions on grounds of rationality and legitimate expectation
  • The Court held that there was no legal duty on the state to protect its citizens in such circumstances

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