From: Lawyers Against The War [mailto:law@portal.ca]

BLAIR PROSECUTED FOR WAR CRIMES:
Preparing Aggressive War

NUREMBERG CRIME

A prosecution lodged with Leeds Magistrates Court today, Monday 17th
March 2003, alleges that Mr Blair has "prepared and planned aggressive
war" against Iraq. This is one of the crimes of which Nazi leaders were
convicted at Nuremberg after the Second World War.

International law makes aggression a crime for which individuals, not
just states, are criminally responsible.

The prosecutor, Mike Davies, said:

"The UN has estimated there would be half a million casualties in the
first phase of an attack. It would be organised murder on a horrific
scale. This is one of the most series cases ever to be brought before an
English court. "

MURDER CHARGE

Blair is also accused with Geoff Hoon, Defence Minister, of "conspiracy
to incite to murder" under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
This charge is based on giving orders to soldiers to invade Iraq when
the invasion is against international law. Such orders would therefore
be unlawful and would not give troops the protection against prosecution
they would rightly have in a legitimate war:

"Blair intends to send our troops into a war that leading lawyers
confirm will be against international law. As a result, every soldier,
sailor and airman will be exposed to possible murder charges. It is the
people giving the orders, not the squaddies, who should be facing such
charges".

Information having been laid (attached), Leeds Magistrates are now
required to issue summonses to Blair and Hoon for them to attend court
to answer the charges under international and English law.

NO LEGAL BASIS FOR WAR

"In my view there is no legal basis in international law for an invasion
of Iraq. Unsubstantiated allegations about weapons plus a desire for a
change of leader do not even begin to justify war. The UN Charter opens
with the words: 'We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to
save succeeding generations from the scourge of war ...' . Not even the
Security Council could legally authorise this war in such clear breach
of the UN Charter. For Blair to take Britain into an illegal war without
even the fig-leaf of a Security Council resolution would be beyond
belief. Bush and Blair now propose aggressive war for oil with no shred
of legality.

"Laws preventing violence are the backbone of a civilized society. How
can we prosecute murderers at home if our own leader is allowed to
murder tens of thousands abroad? Do Iraqi lives not count?"

Mike Davies is Chair of the Alliance for Green Socialism. He brings this
prosecution personally as a private individual.

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COPY

18 Oak Road
Leeds
LS7 3JU

17th March 2003

Leeds Magistrates Court
Westgate
Leeds
LS1

LAYING OF INFORMATION

I lay before Leeds Magistrates Court the following distinct informations
concerning criminal offences and ask the Leeds Magistrates to issue to
me the corresponding summonses against Tony Blair and Geoff Hoon for the
offences alleged:

1)
Tony Blair, Prime Minister, of 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 0AA and
Geoff Hoon, Defence Minister, of the Ministry of Defence, London, SW1A
2HB did, on one or more occasions between 1st January 2002 and 16th
March 2003 inclusive, plan aggressive war against Iraq, contrary to
customary international law automatically incorporated into English
common law.

2)
Tony Blair, Prime Minister, of 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 0AA and
Geoff Hoon, Defence Minister, of the Ministry of Defence, London, SW1A
2HB did, on one or more occasions between 1st January 2002 and 16th
March 2003 inclusive, prepare aggressive war against Iraq, contrary to
customary international law automatically incorporated into English
common law.

3)
Tony Blair, Prime Minister, of 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 0AA and
Geoff Hoon, Defence Minister, of the Ministry of Defence, London, SW1A
2HB did, on one or more occasions between 1st January 2002 and 16th
March 2003 inclusive, conspire to incite members of the United Kingdom
armed forces to murder members of the armed forces of Iraq, this
incitement being by giving, or causing to be given, unlawful orders to
members of the UK armed forces to participate in an aggressive war
against Iraq, incitement to murder being contrary to section 4 of the
Offences Against the Person Act 1861 as amended, and conspiracy to
commit a criminal offence being contrary to section 1 of the Criminal
Law Act 1977 as amended.

Yours faithfully

Michael F Davies

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For the attention of Leeds Magistrates.

It is possible that Leeds Magistrates rarely deal with offences under
international law and the relationship between these offences and
municipal law. It may therefore be helpful for me to provide brief
preliminary references concerning the provenance of the criminal
offences alleged in the first two informations (planning aggressive war
and preparing aggressive war).

These references are from

Malcolm N Shaw
International Law (4th edition) (paperback)
Cambridge University Press 1997

Shaw pp105-110 states that customary international law is automatically
part of English common law unless it conflicts with statute law or prior
case law.

Shaw pp 471-473 and p 185 states that aggression, including the
Nuremberg formulation of "planning, preparing or waging aggressive war",
is a crime under customary international law.

Shaw pp 184-190 states that under customary international law
individuals are criminally liable for aggression, including in
particular the Nuremberg formulation of "planning, preparing or waging
aggressive war".

The principal underlying case law references are given by Shaw.