13 July 2025
On the “Whims of Foreign Courts”
Last week, the UK High Court decided that the UK can continue to issue licences for F-35 components that go into a pool of spare parts which Israel can use on its existing F-35 jets. The finding by the High Court that the UK cannot exclude Israel as an end user for UK manufactured components because “the only way for the UK to ensure that its components do not reach Israel is for it to suspend all exports into the F-35 programme” raises pertinent questions with regard to the UK's compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty and other key provisions of international law. Continue reading >>
0 
07 March 2024
How Europe Dodges the International Arms Control Regime
F-35 fighter jets are the world's most sophisticated weapon. This post argues that the legal basis for Dutch exports in the F-35 programme shows a worrying disregard for international law regulating arms exports. Dutch legislation does not require the government to carry out a detailed and prior assessment of the export of F-35 components. This is a clear breach of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). What’s more, the Netherlands is not the only European state that blatantly ignores its procedural obligations under the ATT, but countries such as Denmark and the UK have adopted a similar approach. Hence, one wonders whether dodging the ATT regime by European states in the F-35 programme is part and parcel of the negotiation package on commercial contracts with the US Continue reading >>
0