News & events

07-03-2013

No to secret justice: The letter from 700 legal professionals


Dear Sir,
I strongly oppose the Government’s plan in the Justice and Security Bill to extend the controversial Closed Material Procedures (CMP) to ordinary civil law cases and oust the court’s jurisdiction to hear certain Norwich Pharmacal applications for disclosure.

As a lawyer, I believe the changes set out in the Justice and Security Bill are contrary to the Rule of Law and should not be brought into force. The plans for secret courts erode core principles of our civil justice system including the right to a fair trial, equality of arms and open justice. They will fatally undermine the court room as an independent and objective forum in which allegations of wrongdoing can be fairly tested and where the Government can be transparently held to account.

I urge the Government to abandon these dangerous and unnecessary plans.

For the full list of signatories:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/article-2285480/No-secret-justice.html#ixzz2MtJR9d6s