header-logo header-logo

Civil procedure—Closed material procedure—Applicability to civil claims

26 November 2009
Issue: 7395 / Categories: Case law , Law reports
printer mail-detail

Al Rawi and others v The Security Service and others [2009] EWHC 2959 (QB)

Queen’s Bench Division, 18 November 2009, Silber J

The “closed material” procedure involving special advocates may be adopted in a civil claim for damages.

Timothy Otty QC, Richard Hermer QC and Tom Hickman (instructed by Birnberg Peirce &Co) for the first, second and fourth claimants. Michael Fordham QC and Naina Patel (i) (instructed by Birnberg Peirce & Co) for the third and fifth claimants (ii) (instructed by Leigh Day& Co) for the sixth claimant and (iii) (instructed by Christian Khan) for the seventh claimant.

Jonathan Crow QC, Karen Steyn, Daniel Beard and Andrew O’Connor (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the defendants. Liberty and Justice, the interveners, made joint written submissions prepared by Nigel Pleming QC, Eric Metcalfe and Corinna Ferguson.

The seven claimants were all former detainees who had been held by various foreign states, including by the United States using its facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and to have thereby suffered ill-treatment.

The defendants were

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll