The two soldiers who murdered Belfast teenager Peter McBride could be thrown out of the British army, following a decision in the High Court in Belfast.
Mr Justice Kerr yesterday quashed the army board's decision to retain Scots Guardsmen James Fisher and Mark Wright and said it would be necessary for the soldiers' application to remain in the army to be considered afresh.
Guardsmen Fisher and Wright were convicted of murdering Mr McBride in 1995 and sentenced to life imprisonment. They were released on licence last year after six years in custody and rejoined the regiment.
Delivering a reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Kerr said the army board had accepted that the guardsmen had merely made an error of judgment.
"Yet the board also stated that they accepted the findings of the trial judge (Lord Justice Kelly) and the Court of Appeal.
"A finding that the guardsmen's actions were the result of an error of judgment is wholly inconsistent with the findings of the trial judge.
"He concluded that the guardsmen fired on the deceased knowing that they had no justification for doing so."