Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), an organisation that employs just 11 full-time staff, has created legal history in its bid to prevent a war with Iraq.
In the first ruling of its kind, two senior judges agreed to cap the organisation's legal bill to £25,000 should it lose a High Court hearing to prevent war.
CND, which now campaigns on all issues involving weapons of mass destruction, claims no hostile action can lawfully be taken unless the UN security council passes a fresh resolution authorising the use of force. It believes the UN's mandate for law is not legally enforceable.
The judges ruled that because of the exceptional nature of the case, CND will not risk a potentially crippling bill should it lose.
Ian Martin, spokesman for CND, said: "We are a political organisation using legal means to hold up and derail the world coalition against Iraq."
The case was due to be heard on Monday (9 December).
