UK
government plans to end centuries of open justice by allowing some
court evidence to be heard behind closed doors are "dangerous", Amnesty
International said.
The proposed legal changes, part of the
Justice and Security Bill, could result in information and evidence of
human rights violations by UK state representatives, being kept secret.
Plans
by the government to introduce new legislation were confirmed in the
Queen’s speech during Wednesday’s state opening of the UK Parliament.
“These proposals are dangerous and should be dropped," said Tara Lyle, Policy Adviser at Amnesty International UK.
“They
will allow the government to throw a cloak of secrecy over wrongdoing,
including matters as serious as the alleged involvement by UK officials
in rendition, secret detention, enforced disappearances and torture."
The
Bill would allow for the use of “closed material procedures” in future
civil claims cases. This would allow the courts to consider secret
material presented by UK authorities in closed sessions.
Claimants
and their lawyers of choice would not have access to the material or
the closed sessions and would, instead, have a court appointed Special
Advocate to represent their interests.
The Special Advocate
would be prohibited from discussing any part of the secret material with
the claimant or taking instructions from them after seeing the
material, seriously impeding their ability to serve the interests of the
claimant.
Amnesty International considers that the use of
Special Advocates fails to sufficiently mitigate the unfairness of
“closed material procedures”.
Amnesty International believes
the right to redress and a fair trial for victims of alleged human
rights violations could be critically undermined by the proposals.
The
proposals for the Bill come amid allegations that the UK has been
involved in rendition, unlawful detention and mistreatment.
“After
David Cameron promised to get to the bottom of allegations of
complicity in human rights violations by UK officials, this Bill is a
sell-out to the security services," said Tara Lyle.
“The victims
of human rights violations as well as the general public have a right
to learn the truth about whether and how government officials have been
involved in rendition, secret detention, enforced disappearances and
torture.”
“If members of the intelligence and security services
are suspected of involvement in human right violations, the government
should not be able to invoke ‘national security’ to avoid real
accountability.”
@'Amnesty International'
