Smith and others v Ministry of Defence; Ellis v Ministry of Defence; Allbutt and others v Ministry of Defence [2013] UKSC 41, [2013] All ER (D) 167 (Jun)
It was settled law that combat immunity was not limited to the presence of the enemy or the occasions when contact with the enemy had been established. It extended to all active operations against the enemy in which service personnel were exposed to attack, including the planning and preparation for the operations in which the armed forces might come under attack or meet armed resistance. Further, there was no duty, in battle conditions, to maintain a safe system of work. However, the extension of the immunity to the planning of and preparation for military operations applied to the planning of and preparation for the operations in which injury had been sustained, and not to the planning and preparation, in general, for possible unidentified further operations. Accordingly, the doctrine of combat immunity should be narrowly construed.
