Category: closed material

Regina (B and others) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court and others – WLR Daily

Posted November 7th, 2014 in closed material, disclosure, evidence, extradition, law reports, magistrates by tracey

Regina (B and others) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court and others: [2014] UKSC 59; [2014] WLR (D) 470

‘A judge hearing extradition proceedings in the magistrates’ court had no power under the Extradition Act 2003 to hear evidence in a closed court and to make an order prohibiting the disclosure to the government of the requesting state of evidence adduced by individuals whose extradition was being sought. Extradition proceedings were not in a special category which would justify a departure from the principle of open justice.’

WLR Daily, 5th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Letting in a chink of light to closed material cases : Bank Mellat again – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 6th, 2014 in banking, closed material, disclosure, human rights, news, setting aside by sally

‘Fireworks here from Collins J in making sure that Bank Mellat got some disclosure of information in its fight to discharge a financial restriction order against it.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 5th November 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

VB (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent); EN (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent); CM (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent); CU (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent) – Supreme Court

Posted November 5th, 2014 in anonymity, closed material, extradition, human rights, law reports, Supreme Court, war crimes, witnesses by sally

VB (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent); EN (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent); CM (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent); CU (Appellant) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Respondent) [2014] UKSC 59 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 5th November 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Secret trial: Erol Incedal claims he was plotting robbery not terror attack – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 3rd, 2014 in closed material, electronic monitoring, explosives, firearms, news, road traffic offences, robbery, terrorism by sally

‘The law student denies terrorism offences, saying he had contemplated committing an armed robbery or buying heroin or a gun instead’

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Daily Telegraph, 31st October 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Government not required to disclose full details of defence – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 28th, 2014 in closed material, compensation, defence, detention, disclosure, government departments, human rights, misfeasance in public office, news, public interest, torture, trespass by sally

‘The High Court has ruled that in a case against the state which did not directly affect the liberty of the subject, there was no irreducible minimum of disclosure of the state’s case which the court would require. The consequences of such disclosure for national security prevailed.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 27th October 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘Secret’ terror trial begins at Old Bailey – BBC News

Posted October 14th, 2014 in closed material, news, private hearings, reporting restrictions, terrorism, trials by sally

‘A jury has been sworn in at the Old Bailey for a terror trial that will be partially held in secret.’

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BBC News, 13th October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lord Neuberger on the Supreme Court: Five key cases from its first five years – The Independent

Posted October 13th, 2014 in appeals, assisted suicide, closed material, divorce, EC law, environmental protection, euthanasia, financial dispute resolution, hearsay evidence, human rights, judges, judicial review, news, parliament, railways, statistics, Supreme Court by sally

‘From euthanasia to high-speed rail, the highest in the land has an almost limitless remit.’

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The Independent, 12th October 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Secret trial defendant pleads guilty to possessing terrorist document – The Guardian

Posted October 10th, 2014 in closed material, documents, guilty pleas, news, reporting restrictions, terrorism by sally

‘One of the defendants due to face charges in a partly secret trial has pleaded guilty to possessing a terrorist document.’

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The Guardian, 9th October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal Aid Challenge Success, Assisted Suicide and the Future of UK Human Rights – the Human Rights Roundup – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 29th, 2014 in appeals, assisted suicide, closed material, contracts, Crown Prosecution Service, human rights, legal aid, media, news, prisons, prosecutions, sexual offences, solicitors, terrorism by tracey

‘This week, the Conservative Party will unveil its plans for human rights reform in the UK. In other news, Chris Grayling’s decision to drastically reduce the number of legal aid contacts granted is successfully challenged, while a prosecution for assisted suicide keeps the assisted dying debate alive.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th September 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The rise of the secret trial: Closed Material Procedures one year on – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted August 6th, 2014 in closed material, disclosure, ministers' powers and duties, news, reporting restrictions, trials by sally

‘Last week Justice Secretary Chris Grayling reported on how often closed material proceedings (CMPs) have been sought under the Justice and Security Act 2013 (JSA), as he is required to do annually under the Act. As the first and only official consolidated presentation of how the new CMP regime is being used, this two-page written ministerial statement warrants close attention.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 5th August 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Evidence during FOI disputes can be provided in secret, rules Court of Appeal – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 5th, 2014 in closed material, confidentiality, evidence, freedom of information, news, tribunals by sally

‘Public bodies defending a decision to withhold information requested under freedom of information (FOI) laws can submit evidence to an information rights tribunal in secret, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th August 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Open justice and freedom of information – Court of Appeal judgment in Browning – Panopticon

Posted August 1st, 2014 in closed material, evidence, freedom of information, news, tribunals by sally

‘Last month I penned a post on the issue of how the principle of natural justice can be reconciled with the use of closed procedures in FOIA appeals. The post was written against the backdrop of the Court of Appeal hearing of the appeal in the Browning case. Today the Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment. Mr Browning’s appeal was dismissed.’

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Panopticon, 30th July 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Browning v Information Commissioner and Another – WLR Daily

Posted July 31st, 2014 in appeals, civil procedure rules, closed material, disclosure, freedom of information, law reports, tribunals by michael

Browning v Information Commissioner and Another [2014] EWCA Civ 1050;  [2014] WLR (D) 346

‘The First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 permitted the tribunal when hearing an appeal against a decision of the Information Commissioner to adopt a closed material procedure in which a party and his legal representatives were excluded from the hearing or part of it.’

WLR Daily, 30th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

How many times did court doors close? – BBC News

Posted July 23rd, 2014 in closed material, news, private hearings, statistics by michael

‘One for spy thriller fans and conspiracy theorists: in the last year, the government has asked judges five times to let it give secret evidence to defend itself in otherwise open court cases.’

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BBC News, 22nd July 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Selected journalists to attend secret terror trial – the end of press freedom? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted June 20th, 2014 in closed material, news, private hearings, reporting restrictions, terrorism by tracey

‘The application to have an entire trial held in secret caused a bit of a stir when news of the application was released earlier this month. The Court of Appeal has now permitted some of the hearing to be heard in public. This will probably be limited to the formalities at the start and end of the trial and parts of the Prosecution Opening.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 17th June 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Secret trials – a threat to justice? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted June 20th, 2014 in closed material, news, private hearings, reporting restrictions, terrorism by tracey

‘Not since the long gone days of the Star Chamber has a case happened in secret with no reporting of the names of defendants, the charges, or the evidence. Whilst some element of secrecy is common place (see any trial with a youth or a sexual offence in the Crown Court for example) the idea that someone could be arrested, charged and potentially imprisoned without anyone beyond the immediate players knowing about it was anathema to the English lawyer.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 16th June 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Open justice and freedom of information – Browning in the Court of Appeal – Panopticon

Posted June 18th, 2014 in appeals, closed material, disclosure, evidence, freedom of information, media, news, reporting restrictions by sally

‘The issue of just how open our justice system should be is an issue which is or should be of fundamental concern to all practising lawyers. If, as Jeremy Bentham once stated ‘publicity is the very soul of justice’ (cited by Lord Shaw in the leading case of Scott v Scott [1913] AC 477), then an open justice system is the corporeal expression of that soul. However, we now live in times where open justice is increasingly under threat. Indeed, as last week’s headlines reminded us all, matters have now got to a stage where some judges at least have been prepared to allow, not merely the deployment of a limited closed procedure to deal with certain aspects of a case, but a completely secret trial. It no doubt came as a relief to many that the Court of Appeal was not prepared to sanction such a comprehensive departure from the open justice principle: Guardian News v AB CD. However, the mere fact that the judiciary was prepared to contemplate such a procedure shows how far we have come since the days of Scott v Scott.’

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Panopticon, 18th June 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

The secret trial controversy – how open will this newly opened justice be? – Legal Week

Posted June 17th, 2014 in appeals, closed material, media, news, private hearings, reporting restrictions, trials by sally

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Legal Week, 16th June 2014

Source: www.legalweek.com

Secret trials – a little transparency, a lot to worry about – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 16th, 2014 in appeals, closed material, disclosure, media, news, public interest, reporting restrictions, rule of law, terrorism by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has published its decision in Guardian News Media v AB and CD. It is not a judgment, the Court says. Judgments – plural – will be given “in due course.” Still, the 24 paragraph decision contains the order and explanation of the order, and gives an indication of some of the reasons that will follow.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 12th June 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Trial of AB and CD part of creeping move towards secret justice – The Guardian

Posted June 13th, 2014 in closed material, intelligence services, murder, news, private hearings, terrorism by sally

‘The case of AB and CD has been widely described as “Britain’s first secret trial”. It would be more accurately described as the latest of a number of creeping moves towards secret justice.’

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The Guardian, 12th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk