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Judges' own summary

On 10 April 2008, Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Sullivan ruled that the decision of the Director of the Serious Fraud Office to drop an investigation into alleged bribes by BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia was unlawful. As the judgment is long -- on the judges' own admission -- they prepared a summary of the first part of their ruling.

UK media coverage of Serious Fraud Office judicial review ruling

Media coverage was extensive following the ruling by Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Sullivan on 10 April 2008 that the decision of the Director of the Serious Fraud Office to drop an investigation into alleged bribes by BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia was unlawful. This is a selection of some leading articles from UK newspapers from 10-17 April 2008.

Court rules Government's termination of BAE-Saudi investigation unlawful

The Corner House and Campaign Against Arms Trade issued this press release after the High Court ruled, in response to a judicial review brought by both groups, that the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had acted unlawfully when he stopped a corruption investigation into BAE Systems' arms deals with Saudi Arabia.

Permission Hearing judgment

On 9 November 2007, Lord Justice Moses sitting with Mr Justice Irwin granted The Corner House and Campaign Against Arms Trade permission to bring a full judicial review hearing against the decision by the Director of the Serious Fraud Office to terminate the SFO investigation into alleged bribery by BAE Systems in its Saudi Arabian arms deals. Their judgment outlines their reasons for giving permission, and summarises issues relating to the costs of the judicial review.

Submission to the Woolf Committee

This Corner House submission urges the Woolf Committee, set up by BAE, to look in detail at BAE's use of agents and consultants to obtain contracts, lobbying policies, covert monitoring of NGOs, failure to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, and at how BAE should deal with allegations of its past malpractice.

The Corner House submission to the Law Commission's consultation on Reform of Bribery Laws

This Corner House submission to the Law Commission's public consultation on reforming the UK's antiquated corruption laws looks at corporate liability and at the role of the Attorney General in halting prosecutions of corruption offences where national security concerns have been raised.

High Court reopens BAE-Saudi corruption investigation

On 24 April 2008, the UK High Court formally quashed the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) decision to drop its corruption investigation into arms deals between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia. It also gave the SFO permission to appeal to the House of Lords against its 10th April 2008 ruling that the SFO's termination of the investigation was unlawful.

Carbon Trading: Solution or Obstacle?

More and more commentators are now recognizing that carbon markets are failing to address the climate crisis. But more discussion is needed of why this is so, and how the way might be cleared for more effective approaches.

Carbon Trading, Climate Justice and the Production of Ignorance: Ten Examples

Carbon trading programmes such as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Kyoto Protocol have helped mobilize neoclassical economics and development planning in new projects of dispossession, speculation, rent-seeking and the redistribution of wealth from poor to rich and from the future to the present. Part of this process is the creation of ignorance, argues this article published in the journal Development. (French and Spanish versions are also available.)

El comercio de carbono, justicia climática y la producción de ignorancia: 10 ejemplos

El Protocolo de Kioto y el Esquema del Comercio de Emisiones de la Unión Europea han ayudado a movilizar a la economía neoclásica y a la planificación del desarrollo para crear nuevos proyectos de desposesión, especulación, búsqueda de rentas y redistribución de la riqueza de pobres a ricos y del futuro al presente. Una parte de este proceso es la creación de ignorancia.

Corner House Research and CAAT vs Director of the Serious Fraud Office (Day One)

On 14-15th February 2008, the High Court heard a judicial review of the Serious Fraud Office's decision in December 2006 to terminate its investigation into alleged corruption by BAE Systems in recent arms deals with Saudi Arabia. This document is a transcript of the court proceedings of the first day, 14 February 2008, on which lawyers representing The Corner House and Campaign Against Arms Trade presented their arguments, and lawyers for the Serious Fraud Office began their defence.