[28 October 2014] – On 2 June 2014, G4S published on its website a summary of a review (“Independent Israel Review”) (the Review) it commissioned into the potential legal and moral responsibility arising out of its commercial activities in Israel and Palestine. This was the second time the company has published extracts from academic reports seeking to absolve itself of all culpability arising out of its commercial activities in the region.

 

According to the G4S website the authors of the Review “agreed to publish the key findings in the interests of transparency and accessibility”. This statement is clearly capable of giving the impression that copyright in the Review is retained by the authors. However, on further enquiry it appears that the authors have not been authorised to release the full Review and that Mr. Ashley Almanza, the company’s CEO, is the appropriate person to approve publication.

 

Accordingly, on 27 October 2014, members of the UK Parliament wrote to Mr. Almanza, requesting full disclosure of the underlying documents used to prepare the summary. Whilst acknowledging that the company is under no legal obligation to publish the full Review, the correspondence notes that full publication would be consistent with the company’s stated aim of “transparency and accessibility”.