Lord Kerr - The Batang Kali Killings

On 3rd February 2016, the Halsbury Society (Merton's Law Society), will be hosting Lord Kerr, who will be addressing how the Supreme Court has approached the Batang Kali killings and how that contributes to current legal debates with regard to redressing historic wrongs. In 1948, twenty-four Malayan villagers were killed by a British army patrol. The possibility of holding a public inquiry in 2016 was rejected by the UK Supreme Court last year due to the events being too long ago. This is likely to have profound consequences for future inquests into deaths caused by armed forces or police during the Northern Ireland Troubles. For Lord Kerr, as the former Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, this is an issue particularly close to home.