The Justice and Security Act 2013 has now received Royal Assent. Among other things, the Act allows for the limited use of closed material procedures (CMPs) in civil proceedings before the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Session. As a result of the Act, where such proceedings involve national security issues, a wider range of evidence can now be used without the need to disclose ‘sensitive’ information to the public.
Under S.6 of the Act, a court hearing relevant civil proceedings may – of its own volition, or at the behest of a party or a Secretary of State – declare that a CMP application can be made. Thereupon, the court may make the declaration if it considers that a number of conditions have been met, including that it is in the interests of the fair and effective administration of justice that the declaration be made. After a declaration has been made, the court must keep it under review, and must revoke it if it is considered that the declaration no longer serves the fair and effective administration of justice purpose. In addition, the Attorney General, in respect of proceedings in England and Wales, may appoint a special advocate to represent the interests of a party who has been excluded from a CMP case.
Provision for CMP in the employment tribunal already exists under Rule 54 of the Employment Tribunal Rules. In its consultation ‘Justice and Security’, the Government had proposed bringing the Employment Tribunal Rules on special advocates into line with other special advocate schemes in order to harmonise the special advocate system. This proposal has not been implemented under the new legislation. However, the Justice and Security Act does amend S.18 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 so that CMP proceedings in employment tribunals are not prohibited from hearing ‘intercept’ evidence, i.e. evidence resulting from interception of communications or which is likely to reveal the existence or absence of, among other things, an interception warrant.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
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The legal content in this article is believed to be correct and true on this date.