“Secret justice proposals may be needed in an ‘important’ case about the Government’s intelligence-sharing agreements with the US, a senior judge has suggested for the first time.”
Daily Telegraph, 30th April 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“More than 150 criminals, potentially including terrorists, have been secretly given immunity from prosecution or discounted sentences for becoming supergrasses.”
Daily Telegraph, 18th April 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“On 19 October 2011 the Government’s published its proposals to extend closed procedures, as set out in its Justice and Security Green Paper (and covered by the post on this blog).”
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th April 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“What proposals for closed hearings would mean for press freedom.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Ken Clarke wants to allow evidence to be heard in secret where it would compromise national security. Here we explain why there is such controversy over the Government’s plan to hold some court cases and inquests behind closed doors.”
Daily Telegraph, 4th April 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The justice secretary, Ken Clarke, has defended proposals to create a new generation of secret courts in the face of criticism from Nick Clegg and parliament’s human rights committee, saying the plans will make the system more accountable and more conducive to intelligence sharing with other countries.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Government proposals to extend the use of secret hearings in cases where evidence might compromise national security are a radical departure from the UK’s ‘traditions of open justice and fairness’, MPs and peers said today.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 4th April 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights has now responded to the Government’s consultation on the proposals set out in their Justice and Security Green Paper Cm 8194. The idea is to extend ‘closed material procedures’ so as to be available in all civil proceedings, i.e. not just in some highly restricted national security contexts such as deportation appeals before SIAC (the Special Immigration Appeals Commission), control orders, and their successor regime known as TPIMs.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th April 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Parliament’s joint committee on human rights (JCHR) has produced a unanimous report on the government’s justice and security green paper that is as precise and persuasive as the green paper itself is unfocussed and unconvincing.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation has said there is a ‘small but indeterminate category of national security-related claims’ in which a closed hearing would be preferable to existing court procedures.”
The Guardian, 21st March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Until this week, reaction to the Government’s green paper on ‘Justice and Security’ has been muted. It has taken the form of detailed and reasoned submissions and has tended to come mainly from organisations and individuals with a legal background. Writing on the UK Human Rights Blog, barrister Adam Wagner, somewhat despairingly, referred to the ‘sound of tumbleweed greeting secret civil trials proposals’.”
Legal Week, 13th March 2012
Source: www.legalweek.com
“As we reported in our summary of the decision earlier, the Supreme Court has confirmed that the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) has the power to order that certain witness evidence may be produced in conditions of absolute and irreversible secrecy.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 8th March 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“The court is entitled to make an order for a witness to give evidence before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) in such a way that the identity of the witness and the substance of the evidence remains confidential.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 7th March 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“The justice secretary, Ken Clarke, has admitted to being ‘unsettled’ by criticism from lawyers about his plans for extending secret courts.”
The Guardian, 6th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Extending secret hearings into civil courts will undermine effective scrutiny of government operations in the ‘war on terror’, according to prominent civil liberties activists and lawyers.”
The Guardian, 6th March 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Kenneth Clarke has attempted to quell growing concerns over proposals to hold more court hearings in secret by saying the measure will only apply to a ‘tiny’ number of civil cases in ‘very limited circumstances’.”
The Independent, 6th March 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Introducing secret hearings into civil courts could backfire, leading to more claimants accessing sensitive information, according to the government’s own impact assessment of its justice and security green paper. Expanding the use of so-called ‘closed material proceedings’ (CMPs) may also result in jurors finding the vetting procedure intrusive, and in ‘resentment of the judicial process and unwillingness to participate in jury service’, the Ministry of Justice’s study warns.”
The Guardian, 4th March 2012
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“The UK’s reputation as a ‘free and fair democracy’ could be damaged by excessive use of secret court procedures that the government aims to introduce, Northamptonshire police has warned.”
The Guardian, 16th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Ministers and the intelligence services will be able to cover up sensitive information relating to the state’s complicity in torture and secret rendition, under controversial plans likely to be included in the Queen’s Speech in May.”
The Guardian, 11th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A child learns early that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it. Thankfully that principle does not apply to Government consultations and this is aptly demonstrated by the responses to the consultation into whether ‘closed material’ (secret evidence) procedures should be extended to civil trials.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 31st January 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
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