Recommendation 30

There is a real risk that the meaning of “war” in Article 15 ECHR may not align with the meaning given to “significant operations overseas” in clause 12 of the Bill. The MoD should avoid any difference in meaning so that this clause is aligned with the meaning in Article 15 ECHR, by amending this clause to make that clear. It should be made clear on the face of the Bill that this would only apply to UK involvement as a belligerent in an international armed conflict or a non-international armed conflict and that it would not apply in respect of peacekeeping operations, counter-terrorism operations or special operations.