The Justice and Security Bill is the product of the Green Paper on Justice and Security, published in October 2011.
The Society has serious concerns about two sets of changes proposed in the bill:
- Extending closed material procedure to civil proceedings – In the Society's view this undermines the principles of open and natural justice, as well as presenting serious practical difficulties for legal practitioners involved in such cases.
- Reforming the Courts' Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction – The Society considers the current proposal to be too broad, but recognising the requirements of national security, proposes an alternative whereby the scope of the jurisdiction is addressed by a specific, limited exception solely on the grounds of national security.