“Suspects could be detained in prison without knowing the reasons if the ancient writ of habeas corpus is trumped by government plans for secret courts, according to civil liberties campaigners.”
The Guardian, 13th July 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Last night saw the latest round of Lords debate on the Justice and Security Bill. It should be required reading for the Secretary of State. Peers from all benches challenged the Government’s case for the breadth of reform proposed in the Bill. A number of amendments have been tabled jointly in the names of members of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Lords Constitution Committee, both Committees having already castigated the Government’s proposals as potentially harmful to the common law principles of open, adversarial and equal justice.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 12th July 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“As the House of Lords prepares for the Report Stage of the Justice and Security Bill, the Chairman of the Bar Council, Michael Todd QC, has condemned the Government’s planned extensions to the use of Closed Material Proceedings (CMPs), endorsing the arguments of Liberty, Reprieve and the Special Advocates who participate in these proceedings.”
The Bar Council, 9th July 2012
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“National security doesn’t mean we should jettison our proud tradition of fair trials – peers must oppose this bill.”
The Guardian, 9th July 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Key safeguards supposedly built into proposals for extending secret hearings in civil courts have either been ‘misunderstood or misrepresented’ by the government, a parliamentary committee has been warned.”
The Guardian, 26th June 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Controversial powers to hold court cases in secret have been used to conceal the possible involvement of British intelligence agents in apprehending terror suspects in Africa.”
Daily Telegraph, 27th June 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The Court of Appeal recently issued its judgment in XX v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 742, an appeal from a decision of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (‘SIAC’) upholding the Secretary of State’s decision to deport an Ethiopian national on grounds of national security.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 24th June 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Plans to extend secret court hearings address genuine problems of national security but also contain elements of “overkill”, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation has warned.”
The Guardian, 19th June 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Britain is facing a wave of compensation claims for allegedly helping the US target drones strikes abroad, the terror watchdog warned yesterday.”
Daily Telegraph, 20th June 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Plans for secret hearings in civil courts being put before parliament on Tuesday ‘offend the principle of open justice’, a prominent Conservative MP has warned the government.”
The Guardian, 18th June 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Ministers will still be able to dictate whether court cases are heard in secret despite assurances that judges would have the final say, a group of expert lawyers have warned.”
Daily Telegraph, 15th June 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“In the first of a new series Joshua Rozenberg talks to Sir Daniel Bethlehem the former principal legal advisor at the Foreign Office. He asks him about the changing face of international law and its effect on the making of foreign policy, including the rise in litigation against the government on foreign matters. He also asks about international law and the use of drones, and the government’s Justice and Security bill and why Sir Daniel thinks the measures laid out there are necessary.”
BBC Law in Action, 5th June 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“In stark contrast to the pageantry surrounding the Royal Jubilee, here is a somewhat sombre update on the Justice and Security Bill, which was published on 28 May 2012 and is currently receiving its second reading in the House of Lords. The Bill aims to introduce Close Material Procedures, that is secret hearings, into civil trials.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 5th June 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Publishing the Justice and Security Bill this morning, the Secretary of State for Justice said ‘I have used the last few months to listen to the concerns of … civil liberties campaigners with whom I usually agree.’ There are many people who today would sorely like to agree that Ken has listened and has taken their concerns on board. Unfortunately, the Government’s analysis remains fundamentally flawed. The Green Paper was clearly a ‘big ask’. There have undoubtedly been significant changes made from the proposals in the Green Paper. However, the secret justice proposals in the Justice and Security Bill remain fundamentally unfair, unnecessary and unjustified.”
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Civil rights groups have condemned the justice and security bill, despite a series of government concessions over secret courts.”
The Guardian, 29th May 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Evidence deemed sensitive to national security by judges will be heard behind closed doors in a controversial move that will make legal history. The Justice Secretary will make a ‘substantial’ climbdown, however, by excluding inquests from the new powers following widespread concerns about secret justice.”
Daily Telegraph, 29th May 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Secrecy and secret justice are rarely out of the public eye. The Queen’s speech included plans to allow secret hearings in civil claims, at a time when their use is highly controversial. The government argues they are necessary to safeguard national security. Civil liberties groups and even the Special Advocates who help administer them, regard them as a bar to real justice and fair hearings.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“It appears that the Government has climbed down, in part, from some of its controversial secret justice proposals. According to the Telegraph, the Justice and Security Bill, which will be published this week, will include a provision whereby judges, not the Government, has the final say on whether a Closed Material Procedure (CMP) is used. Moreover, CMPs will be restricted to ‘national security cases’ rather than any case ‘in the public interest’.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 21st May 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Judges will decide whether national security evidence can be heard in secret in a partial climbdown on plans to be unveiled by Kenneth Clarke this week.”
Daily Telegraph, 20th May 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“A High Court judge has raised the prospect that national security implications may necessitate the closed material procedure (CMP) in a case being brought against the Foreign Office by the son of a drone strike victim, the Telegraph reports today.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 1st May 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
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