LONDON (Reuters) - British soldiers serving abroad are protected by Human Rights laws, the Court of Appeal ruled on Monday in a verdict the government warned could have serious implications on overseas operations.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was very concerned about any attempt to insert lawyers into the chain of command in the heat of battle.

Three judges dismissed challenges by the government to a High Court ruling last year over the death of Private Jason Smith, who died of heatstroke in Iraq while serving with the Territorial Army, the Press Association reported.

"The state must make reasonable efforts to provide protection to soldiers wherever they are. It's not a particularly onerous duty," lawyer Jocelyn Cockburn, who represents Smith's family, told reporters.

"This isn't the end of our ability to go to war. It is about requiring the state, when they are planning procurement and planning offensives abroad, to take into account the human rights of their soldiers."

Last April, High Court judge Andrew Collins ruled that sending British troops on patrol or into battle with defective equipment could be a breach of human rights.

His judgement came during a request for military inquest guidelines in the case of Smith, who died in Iraq at the age of 32 in November 2006.

The deputy coroner of Oxfordshire, Andrew Walker, said Smith's death was "caused by a serious failure to recognise and take appropriate steps to address the difficulty that he had in adjusting to the climate."

The MoD has been given permission to challenge Monday's verdict in the House of Lords, but on condition that the Defence Secretary pays the legal costs.

Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the judgement.

"While it does not affect the position concerning Private Smith, it potentially has very serious implications for the ability of our forces -- and those of our allies -- to conduct military operations overseas," he said.

"We are studying the judgement's implications for our forces and considering whether to appeal to the House of Lords."

The MoD said it accepted that Smith had been under British authority when receiving medical attention at an Army base in Iraq and so the Human Rights Act applied to him.

"But in the heat of battle during dynamic and fast-moving military operations on foreign territory, the UK could not secure the rights and freedoms which the Human Rights Act seeks to guarantee," it said in a statement.

"We are very concerned by the attempt to insert lawyers into the chain of command in the middle of a battle, which would only create uncertainty, hesitation and potentially greater risk to our people."

A new inquest will now be held into Smith's death. His mother Catherine Smith said she was overwhelmed by the court's verdict but added she was angry at the MoD's attitude.

"Jason lost his life and I really didn't want it happening again to any other family to go through what I'm going through," she told reporters.

"They need their rights, and the right to life is the main principle of this fight."

Reuters