As the House of Lords meets to debate the Justice and Security Bill Second Reading, JUSTICE highlights its serious concerns about the impact of the Bill’s proposals on open, adversarial and equal justice.
The Government is asking for an effective opt-out from our most basic principles of due process. The Supreme Court refused to extend the availability of closed material procedures – where one side can present its case effectively unchallenged to a judge, while the other party and his legal team are locked out – in the absence of “compelling evidence”. Parliamentarians should apply the same high standards. These proposals are unfair, unnecessary and unjustified.
For full information on JUSTICE’s briefing on the Justice and Security Bill.