National Security and the Due Process of Law

Abstract

This article focuses on the ways in which English law struggles to accommodate security concerns within its framework of procedural fairness; insights drawn from EU law, which is rapidly gaining in importance in this field, are also briefly examined. The argument opens with a brief consider- ation of the use of special advocates and of closed material before turning to examine three recent 'litigation sagas' from the English courts which sharply illuminate the difficulties the law faces: Binyam Mohamed on intelligence sharing and obligations of disclosure; Al Sweady on public interest immunity and the Ministry of Defence; and Al Rawi on UK complicity in torture.