A bid to overturn the ban on Palestine Action has moved forward with a judge in Scotland agreeing a judicial review can go ahead.
The ban began last July across the whole of the UK following then home secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws after an attack on planes at a military base which campaigners said were helping Israel’s war effort in Gaza.
The petition for a judicial review was brought by former diplomat Craig Murray, who argued the move was beyond the scope of Ms Cooper's legal power, as Scotland has its own legal system.
On Tuesday, Lord Young granted permission for the judicial review to proceed, with a procedural hearing on February 23 and a two-day substantive hearing on March 17 and 18, officials at Scotland’s highest civil court confirmed.
Mr Murray told The National it was “perfectly possible” that the decision – which he claimed confused direct action with terrorism – could be successfully challenged in Scotland.
“The international definition of terrorism, as the United Nations have intervened to state, is only terrorism if the property damage endangers life," he said. “To damage machinery which is producing weapons is not terrorism.”
Robert Buckland, former UK justice secretary, told The National: “This will obviously present a significant problem for the UK law court and has the potential to cause a constitutional conflict, or even a crisis. I believe any decision made in the Scottish court will be appealed and referred to the UK Supreme Court.”
Joanna Cherry KC, representing Mr Murray, said at a previous hearing this month: “This is a case of great constitutional significance, which impacts on fundamental liberty and human rights of people living and working in Scotland.
“Generally, people enjoy the freedoms of expression and assembly in Articles 10 and 11 set out in the European Court of Human Rights. This proscription has curtailed those liberties and your lordship will see from affidavits the impact that this proscription has had on many otherwise law-abiding people.”
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) welcomed the news that a review can go ahead. Mick Napier of SPSC said: “This judgment is doubly welcome. It offers real hope that the judicial review scheduled for March 17 and 18 will halt this escalating madness by challenging the wholesale arrests of peaceful protesters.
“Hats off to Craig Murray and everyone who helped promote this effort, even when it appeared to have only a slim chance of success.”
Scottish Green justice spokeswoman Maggie Chapman said: “Peaceful protest and solidarity should never be a crime and nor should defending the right of others to protest peacefully. I hope that this decision will be a crucial step in overturning this ridiculous anti-democratic law.”
The UK government has been approached for comment.
