Why did the UK court order reconsideration of Saudi arms sales?

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UK Court Ordered Reconsideration of Saudi Arms Sales Due to Humanitarian Impact Assessment Failure

A British court ordered the government to reconsider issuing new Saudi licenses for the sale of arms due to concerns about their humanitarian impact. The Court of Appeal ruled that the government had acted unlawfully by failing to properly assess whether the arms supplied to Riyadh might violate international human rights commitments during the conflict in Yemen.
Failure to Assess Humanitarian Impact

The British Court of Appeal found that the UK government had not made any concluded assessments regarding whether the Saudi-led coalition had committed violations of international humanitarian law in the past during the Yemen conflict. Judge Terence Etherton highlighted that the government had not attempted to conduct such assessments, which is a critical failure in the licensing process. This lack of assessment led to the ruling that the government must revisit the matter and evaluate future risks associated with these arms sales.
Reversal of Previous Ruling

This decision by the Court of Appeal reversed a prior ruling made by the UK High Court in July 2017. The High Court had initially found the arms exports to Saudi Arabia to be lawful. However, the Court of Appeal's finding today determined that the process by which these export decisions were reached was flawed, specifically concerning the assessment of human rights and humanitarian law implications.
Legal Basis of the Ruling

The Court of Appeal's judgment focused on the process of decision-making rather than the inherent rightness or wrongness of the arms sales themselves. The ruling stated that the government broke the law by not adequately assessing the potential for arms sales to violate human rights commitments. The court mandated that the government must reconsider the matter, taking into account future risks.
Impact and Government Response

Following the ruling, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox announced in parliament that the government would suspend the issuance of new Saudi licenses for arms that might be used in the Yemen conflict. Despite disagreeing with the judgment and intending to seek permission to appeal, the government stated that no new licenses would be granted while the appeal process is underway. The campaign group, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), which initiated the legal challenge in December 2015, viewed this as a historic victory, urging the government to suspend all military equipment sales to Saudi Arabia.

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Why did the UK court order reconsideration of Saudi arms sales?

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