Coalition Against Secret Evidence

Justice, an independent legal human rights organisation founded in 1957 have recently released their report on the use of secret evidence in the judicial system.  An Executive Summary the report details the following concerns;

• It is a basic principle of a fair hearing that a person must know the evidence against him.

• This core principle of British justice has been undermined as the use of secret evidence in UK courts has grown dramatically in the past 10 years.

• Secret evidence can now be used in a wide range of cases including deportations hearings, control orders proceedings, parole board cases, asset-freezing applications, pre-charge detention hearings in terrorism cases, employment tribunals and even planning tribunals.

• Defendants in some criminal cases are now being convicted on the basis of evidence that has never been made public. Criminal courts have issued judgments with redactions to conceal some of the evidence relied upon. Evidence from anonymous witnesses has also been used in hundreds of criminal trials and is widespread in ASBO hearings.

• Since they were first introduced in 1997, almost 100 special advocates – lawyers prohibited from communicating with those they represent – have been appointed. Indeed, the government itself does not know how many special advocates have been appointed.

• This report calls for an end to the use of secret evidence. Secret evidence is unreliable, unfair, undemocratic, unnecessary and damaging to both national security and the integrity of Britain’s courts.

• In its place, this report sets out a series of recommendations that include the strengthening current disclosure procedures by the creation of public interest advocates to replace special advocates in PII claims; increasing the transparency of existing court procedures; and ending reliance on ‘reasonable suspicion’ in such proceedings as deportation and control orders.

For further information contact Eric Metcalfe, Director of Human Rights Policy, emetcalfe@justice.org.uk, direct line: 020 7762 6415