UK Studying EU Judgement
The British Government says it is studying the recent EU Court ruling on the LTTE sanctions while the rebels continue to remain banned in Britain. A spokesperson at the British High Commission in Sri Lanka said that it is important to understand that the LTTE remain a proscribed organisation in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000.“This is separate from the EU provisions.
But it is also important to note that the EU Court judgment is a legal decision on procedural grounds and not a political decision by the EU member states. The judgment did not involve any substantive assessment of the classification of the LTTE as a terrorist group.
We, like others, are studying the judgment and appropriate next steps; and for the time being, the freeze on LTTE funds imposed by the EU has been maintained for another three months.
In the UK, it is illegal to supply funds to the LTTE under our Terrorism Act 2000,” the High Commission spokesperson said.
On 16 October 2014 the General Court of the European Union annulled measures taken by the Council of the European Union against the LTTE, namely the designation of the LTTE as a terrorist organisation and the freezing of LTTE funds. Nonetheless the Court allows the annulled decision on the freezing of LTTE funds to be maintained for another three months.
The Government of Sri Lanka had noted with concern the decision of the European Court of Justice to annul the EU regulations proscribing the LTTE. The defendants of this case have been the Council and Commission of the European Union, together with two member states, the Netherlands and the UK.
The External Affairs Ministry had said in a statement that expectedly, the ECJ judgment requires in-depth study by all the defendant parties.
Conscious of the fact that the listing of the LTTE is a matter internal to the EU, Sri Lanka said it was confident that the European Commission and the EU Member States will take the best possible decision on the future course of action to be taken in this regard, in accordance with their own legal architecture in preserving sovereignty.
