We have previously commented on the Smith case - known as Secretary of State for Defence v R and HM Assistant Deputy Coroner for Oxfordshire and Equality and Human Rights Commission - in which the Appeal Court had held that this protection applies whether or not soldiers are physically on an armed forces base or elsewhere.

• Equality and Human Rights Commission - Secretary of State for Defence v R and HM Assistant Deputy Coroner for Oxfordshire and Equality and Human Rights Commission

The case arises from the death of Scottish TA soldier Jason Smith on a British Army base in Iraq in 2003. The MoD eventually accepted that the Human Rights Act applied to Jason Smith's case as he died on a British army base. However, it argued it did not apply to a British soldier who is off base and the MoD appealed the High Court ruling. The Court of Appeal found against the MoD but granted leave to appeal, on the basis that the MoD will bear the costs.

BAFF has learned that the Ministry of Defence has now lodged an appeal, which will be heard by the new Supreme Court for the United Kingdom.

VIENNA, 26 May 2008 - The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) launched a handbook aimed at improving the protection of human rights of soldiers and other armed forces personnel on Wednesday in Vienna.

There may well be questions to be considered in light of the ruling which was issued by the Appeal Court on 18 May 2009: for example, to what extent there are implications for decisions about the equipping and management of bases, or whether in fact the ruling does not alter the existing military requirement to consider force protection.

BAFF Executive Chairman Douglas Young was concerned that rather than the ruling itself, it was "ill-informed" criticism of the ruling which could lead to "dangerous confusion" amongst junior commanders required to make split-second decisions.

(19 May 2009) Even before the decision in Secretary of State v R (Smith) had been issued by the Court of Appeal, commentators were explaining how "damaging" it would be to apply human rights "on the battlefield" or "in the heat of battle". This line appealed to some of the media:

'Social Housing Discrimination' update 23 Jun 2010: The Housing (Scotland) Bill has passed its first stage in the Scottish Parliament. Opening the debate for the Scottish Government, Alex Neil MSP said that the bill will, amongst other things, "remove the absurd anomaly under which our servicemen and women are unable to form a local connection in the areas in which they were based during their service in the armed forces to enable them to get on the housing list."  BAFF strongly supports this reform, which follows a similar change south of the border.

Below is an article about the BAFF member who led the successful campaign for removal of social housing discrimination against service leavers and their families.

In May 2008 a new website appeared under the banner of 'The Servicemen's Union', announcing that:

The servicemen's union has been set up for all serving and ex-service personnel. We believe that all servicemen and women have the right to join a union and that we should as soon as possible be affiliated to the TUC, like any other union.

The website provided a copy of "The Original Soldier's Charter", which appears to have been published by Hull University Union Labour Society in 1971:

In consultation with members of the Leeds Labour Party Young Socialists, this Labour Society and the Young Chartists nationally, the authors of this document. all of them young soldiers, have formed a "Soldiers'Trade Union Rights Movement"...

The Charter is a fascinating period piece, which helps to explain why the typical opponent of a representative staff association turned out to have served as an officer in the 1970s.

The Servicemen's Union has no connection with the British Armed Forces Federation.

The Servicemen's Union website appears to have disappeared after 2009. We have an electronic copy of the 1971 "Soldier's Charter" .

The British Armed Forces Federation welcomed members of both Houses to a parliamentary reception on Wednesday, 20 May 2009 to explain more about the campaign for recognition of a professional staff association for the armed forces.

From the News of the World, Nov 2007

DEFENCE chiefs could be SUED over the squalid homes given to soldiers returning from war zones.

The troops' union is planning to take Defence Secretary Des Browne to court for compensation for servicemen and women forced to live in leaking, rat-infested old barracks.

And the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) wants the Ministry of Defence to be ordered to refurbish the run-down homes. BAFF chairman Doug Young said: "It beggars belief that the absolute worst barracks seem to have been reserved for some of the same units who have been fighting hardest in Afghanistan."

BAFF is in talks with troops and is offering free legal representation for any of its members who want to take the MOD on. A report recently revealed 19,000 soldiers and their families are living in conditions described by former top soldier General Sir Mike Jackson as "shaming".

BAFF can be contacted on ...

(Originally published by News of the World, Nov 2007)

From the libertarian blog Jess The Dog, Aug 2009:

Most would agree that those who risk their lives to defend democracy should be the first in line to participate in it. However, the Labour government takes the opposite view. There was wide-scale electoral disenfranchisement of the Armed Forces in the 2005 general election and only a high-profile campaign forced the government into limited action.

Once more, there is a real danger that soldiers on operations will be denied the vote once more….and it is difficult not to conclude that this is a deliberate omission on the part of Labour ministers who realise their appalling treatment of the Armed Forces over the past five years – despite their sacrifices – will win them few votes.