On Tuesday, the England Court of Appeal will start two days of hearing on Prince Harry’s legal case on the withdrawal of the public security of his family during their visits to the United Kingdom
After Harry and his wife, Megan Markle, announced that they were Stem From their royal roles and the departure of Britain in 2020, an official committee decided that the couple will not be qualified to protect the police for members of the royal family.
Harry challenges this decision. he I lost the previous stage From the case in February last year, but the judge gave him later So to appeal Judging limited reasons. The judge said that he was persuaded, although “it is not without hesitation”, that the appeal had “a real possibility of success.”
Three judges in the London Court of Appeal will hear arguments by Harry’s lawyers that the decision to withdraw protection violates official policy. The court stated that part of the case will be made separately due to the sensitive nature of evidence about security operations and risk assessments.
What is the case?
The case relates to February 28, 2020, and it is a decision that Harry and Megan are no longer eligible to protect the security of the public in the United Kingdom, after their withdrawal from their official roles and started a new life in Canada. In March 2020, they moved from Vancouver to California.
The decision was made by a body called the Executive Committee for the Protection of Public Rights and Public Persons, known as RAVEC, which brings together government officials, the police and members of the royal family. RAVEC is responsible for making security arrangements for the royal family and other UK personalities based on a special threat of terrorism, obsessive behavior or other threats.
During the first phase of the Harry case, which was heard in the Supreme Court in London in 2022, his lawyers said he did not know that the committee was present and had no opportunity to form its decision. After telling that the discussions were taking place on his security rule, he wrote a letter to a government official expressing the lack of ratification and anxiety. The letter, dated February 10, 2020, mentioned his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a 1997 car accident as she was followed by photographers in Paris.
Harry argued that his family was in a greater danger due to “additional layers of racism and extremism”, and that security from the Capital Police in London was necessary. He wrote that he believed that the lack of consultation could be “a form of punishment to protect my family and put it first” – an accusation that the British government denied.
What happened in the case yet?
Harry launched his legal challenge in September 2021, on the pretext that RAVEC had violated his own policy by withdrawing the protection of the public, and that the committee failed to consider the main factors, and that it did not follow a fair process and was not sufficiently transparent.
In the first phase of the case, in July 2022, the court heard a testimony that Harry was presented to it “Paying or financing proactively the cost of security measures “itself, but RAVEC decided that this would be a mistake” in principle. “
Raven is said to be concerned that allowing special financing “will reduce the availability of” a limited group of close protection officers in Britain, as the police are not routinely armed and subject to intense specialist training for this role.
Harry lost a specific legal challenge on the financing decision in 2023, and the Supreme Court judge Reject On a broader basis in February 2024.
He obtained permission to appeal after three months, but only on the legal points related to whether RAVEC has violated his own policy.
While the issue was continuing, Harry visited the United Kingdom on several occasions, including the funeral of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, crowning his father, King Charles III, and paid the price of private security.
The Supreme Court listened to a certificate that Harry representatives had applied to Ravec to protect public security for each visit.
When will we know the ruling?
After the two -day hearing on Wednesday, the courts of the Appeal Court may announce their ruling on the same day or “reserve judgment”, which means that they will be traded in particular for weeks or months before announcing their decision.
Whatever the side that loses the case, it can apply for permission to install an appeal in the UK Supreme Court. The permission is not granted automatically, because the judges must decide if there is any possibility to be successful.
The British Ministry of the Interior said that it cannot comment directly on the court’s case, but she said in a statement: “The UK’s protection security system is strict and proportional. It is our old policy not to provide detailed information about these arrangements, because doing so may lead to a settlement of its safety and affects the security of individuals.”
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