Bermudians Against the Draft (BAD) will take their fight against conscription to the Privy Council in London next February.

The Privy Council is Bermuda's highest court of appeal.

The campaign group, which comprises 14 men contesting their conscription into the Regiment, hopes to get mandatory military service abolished in the Island for good.

Conscription was abolished in the UK in the aftermath of the Second World War and Bermuda is the only overseas territory where men are made to do mandatory military service.

BAD first launched the court action in late 2006. They lost their first hearing in the Supreme Court in March 2008 and lost again in the Court of Appeal in November 2008. However, the Court of Appeal gave permission to take the case to the Privy Council because it agreed it is of sufficient public importance to be considered further.

The campaigners have listed several grounds upon which they say the policy, which sees male conscripts picked through a ballot to serve in the Regiment, is unlawful.

The conscripts claim the policy is discriminatory against men under the Human Rights Act because women are not forced to serve, and that the establishment of a quota for women should have been explored.

They further claim that insufficient effort has been made to recruit volunteers before resorting to conscription, and that the men's call-up notices were invalid for technical reasons relating to the way they were published.

BAD spokesman Larry Marshall welcomed news that the Privy Council date has now been set, and revealed that the group will once again be represented by top British lawyer Jonathan Crow, working alongside local lawyer Delroy Duncan.

"We're glad we finally have a date because it's been about three years (since we started.) We feel we have a very strong case going to the Privy Council and hopefully we will be victorious," he said.

"It's not just about the 14 young men of the group we're fighting to abolish conscription in the Island."–He added that although he's optimistic they will win the case at the two-day Privy Council hearing on February 22 and 23, BAD plans to fight on to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

The court action is contested by the Government, which says conscription is necessary in Bermuda. The policy is administered by the Defence Department in order to ensure that the Regiment has enough soldiers to fulfil its functions. All Bermudian men aged over 18 and under 32 are liable to call up through a random ballot.