Civil procedure

The court had no power at common law to order a “closed material procedure” for the whole or part of the trial of a civil claim for damages. There was no compelling reason to replace the public interest immunity process with a closed material procedure. The issues of principle raised by the closed material procedure were so fundamental that a closed material procedure should only be introduced in ordinary civil litigation (including judicial review) if Parliament saw it fit to do so.
 

Home Office v Tariq [2011] UKSC 35, [2011] All ER (D) 108 (Jul)

The demands of national security might necessitate and, under European Convention law, justify a system for handling and determining complaints under which an applicant was, for reasons of national security, unable to know the secret material by reference to which his or her complaint was determined. The critical questions under the Convention were whether the system was necessary and whether it contained sufficient safeguards. However, subject to satisfactory answers on those questions, national security considerations might justify a closed material procedure, closed evidence and, furthermore, a blanket decision leaving the precise basis of the determination unclear.