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Require
the Secretary of State to lay before the House of Commons a
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mechanism for obtaining
the approval of that House for the deployment of |
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British forces for armed
conflict. |
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Be
it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the advice and |
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consent of the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal, and Commons, in this present |
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Parliament assembled,
and by the authority of the same, as follows:— |
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1 |
Duty
of the Secretary of State |
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(1) |
The Secretary of State
(or another Minister of the Crown acting on his behalf) |
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shall, within 12 months
of the passing of this Act, make a motion in the House |
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of Commons to give effect
to the provisions of subsection (3) by— |
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(a) |
amendment of the Standing
Orders of the House of Commons, or |
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(b) |
some other means which the
Secretary of State may determine. |
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(2) |
Before discharging his
duty under subsection (1), the Secretary of State shall |
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(a) |
the Public Administration
Committee of the House of Commons, |
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(b) |
the Foreign Affairs Committee
of the House of Commons, |
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(c) |
the Defence Committee of
the House of Commons, |
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(d) |
the Procedure Committee
of the House of Commons, and |
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(e) |
the Select Committee of
the House of Lords on the Constitution. |
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(3) |
The committees referred
to in subsection (2) shall be taken to include any |
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committees carrying out
similar functions. |
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(4) |
The motion made under
subsection (1) must provide a mechanism for the |
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House of Commons to give
approval for the deployment of British forces for |
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armed conflict and must
include— |
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(a) |
a requirement for the Prime
Minister to seek the approval of the House |
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of Commons and the House
of Lords prior to any deployment of British |
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armed forces outside the
United Kingdom into an armed conflict; |
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(b) |
a requirement for the Prime
Minister to lay before the House of |
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Commons, before seeking
their approval in accordance with paragraph |
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(a), a report setting out— |
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(ii) |
legal basis for, and |
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(c) |
a procedure (the “exception
procedure”) to be followed in |
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circumstances when the Prime
Minister determines that, for reasons of |
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security or urgency, deployment
is required prior to any approval of |
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the House of Commons, providing
that a report referred to in |
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paragraph (b) above must
be laid within seven days of the |
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commencement of deployment
or as soon as is practicable thereafter; |
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(d) |
provision for the procedure
specified in paragraph (a) to be followed as |
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soon as practicable after
any use of the exception procedure; and |
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(e) |
a requirement for the Prime
Minister to seek further approval in |
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accordance with paragraph
(a) if in his opinion there has been any |
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significant change to the
objectives of the deployment, as stated in the |
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report laid under paragraph
(b)(i). |
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“armed conflict”
means any use of force which gives rise, or may give rise, |
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to a situation of armed
conflict to which the Geneva Conventions of |
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1949 or the Additional
Protocols of 1977 apply; |
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“regular services”
means the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the regular |
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army or the regular air
force; |
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“the reserve forces”
has the same meaning as in section 1(2) of the Reserve |
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Forces Act 1996 (c. 14)
(power to maintain the reserve forces). |
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(1) |
This Act may be cited
as the Waging War (Parliament’s Role and |
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Responsibility) Act 2007.
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