McCANN AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT 32 Soldiers C and D witnessed the shooting of Mr McCann and Ms Farrell before proceeding in pursuit of Savage (at paragraph 228); - there was insufficient material to rebut the version of the shooting given by Soldiers C and D. Mr Savage was shot at close range until he hit the ground and probably in the instant as or after he hit the ground. This conclusion was supported by the pathologists’ evidence at the subsequent inquest (at paragraphs 229 and 230); - Soldiers A to D opened fire with the purpose of preventing the threat of detonation of a car bomb in the centre of Gibraltar by suspects who were known to them to be terrorists with a history of previous involvement with explosives (at paragraph 231); - a timer must in all probability have been mentioned at the Commissioner’s operational briefing. For whatever reason, however, it was not a factor which was taken into account in the soldiers’ view of the operation (at paragraph 241). II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE 133. Article 2 of the Gibraltar Constitution provides: "1. No person shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been convicted. 2. A person shall not be regarded as having been deprived of his life in contravention of this section if he dies as a result of the use to such extent and in such circumstances as are permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably justifiable: (a) for the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property; (b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; ... (d) in order to prevent the commission by that person of a criminal offence." 134. The relevant domestic case-law establishes that the reasonableness of the use of force has to be decided on the basis of the facts which the user of the force honestly believed to exist: this involves the subjective test as to what the user believed and an objective test as to whether he had reasonable grounds for that belief. Given that honest and reasonable belief, it must then be determined whether it was reasonable to use the force in question in the prevention of crime or to effect an arrest (see, for example, Lynch v. Ministry of Defence [1983] Northern Ireland Law Reports 216; R v. Gladstone Williams [1983] 78 Criminal Appeal Reports 276, at p. 281; and R v. Thain [1985] Northern Ireland Law Reports 457, at p. 462). 135. The test of whether the use of force is reasonable, whether in selfdefence or to prevent crime or effect an arrest, is a strict one. It was