Group seek Lord Advocate's intervention on Trident
9 Oct 07
Opinion sought by campaigners including former Lord Advocate Lord Murray
Anti-nuclear campaigners have asked the Lord Advocate to look at the legality of Trident nuclear missiles kept at Faslane naval base.
The group, which believes the missiles may be illegal under international law, includes former Lord Advocate and Court of Session judge Lord Murray, who argues that at the very least it is illegal to deploy the weapons in a state of readiness.
Others in the group maintain that even the possession of nuclear weapons may be a criminal act.
They hope to persuade Elish Angiolini, the Lord Advocate, to put a case to the UK Government for a full legal inquiry in relation to the missile system.
Lord Murray said Trident tended to be seen as a political issue, but there were important legal issues to be taken into consideration and it was time for a proper legal debate.
He believes that the International Court of Justice's 1996 advisory opinion on nuclear weapons has the effect that the missiles, as weapons of mass destruction, are prima facie illegal, and a state has to be in extreme danger of imminent attack to justify their deployment.
The former judge, who retired from the bench in 1995, also cites the UK Parliament's War Crimes Act, which provides that preparation to commit war crimes is itself an offence.