Update from Government following review of export licensing criteria
Today the Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, provided a written statement to Parliament, updating on the steps that have been taken to comply with the judgment of the Court of Appeal of 20 June 2019 regarding licences for military exports to Saudi Arabia for possible use in the conflict in Yemen.
In the statement, the Secretary of State writes:
Having now re-taken the decisions that were the subject of judicial review on the correct legal basis, as required by the Order of the Court of Appeal of 20 June, it follows that the undertaking that my predecessor gave to the Court – that we would not grant any new licences for the export of arms or military equipment to Saudi Arabia for possible use in Yemen – falls away. The broader commitment that was given to Parliament, relating to licences for Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners, also no longer applies.
The Government will now begin the process of clearing the backlog of licence applications for Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners that has built up since 20 June last year.
ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said:
“We welcome today’s update from the Government on its review of export licensing criteria following last year’s Appeal Court judgement, this has provided some much needed certainty to industry going forward.
“The UK Government is best placed to make decisions on strategic exports and the UK export licensing regime is widely recognised as one of the most rigorous and transparent systems operating anywhere in the world, with each license application thoroughly evaluated on an individual basis.
“Industry supports the robust measures on export licenses put in place by the UK Government and works closely with the Department for International Trade to fully comply with them.”