header-logo header-logo

Lessons from Chilcot

05 August 2016 / Richard Harrison
Issue: 7710 / Categories: Features
printer mail-detail
nlj_7710_harrison

Richard Harrison reflects on how an instructing solicitor would have interpreted Lord Goldsmith’s opinion on the legality of the Iraq war

The Chilcot Report is damning. It specifically did not conclude that the war was unlawful, but it concluded that the circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis for UK military action were “far from satisfactory”. So it is worth reflecting on its conclusions about the advice received by the government to justify the legality of going to war.

As a commercial litigation solicitor, I am used to obtaining and deploying the opinions of suitably chosen and properly instructed barristers. I am used to assisting clients come to a decision based on the terms in which those opinions are expressed. The government was required to do the same thing with the advice of its chief legal adviser the attorney-general, Lord Goldsmith QC. What therefore should have been made of Lord Goldsmith’s opinion on the legality of the Iraq war?

7 March

The “advice” dated 7 March 2003, was originally released under

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll