IBAHRI Slams UK Search of Barrister's Chambers
The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) condemns the United Kingdom authorities' search of a barrister's chambers and seizure of privileged defence materials linked to a Guantanamo detainee case. Such actions fundamentally undermine legal professional privilege, a bedrock principle of fair trial rights and the rule of law, while handing the executive an unfair advantage in proceedings involving allegations of state complicity in torture.
This incident concerns the chambers of a special advocate: a barrister appointed to represent the interests of excluded parties in closed material proceedings, where the affected person is denied access to parts of the case file on national security grounds. Special advocates are appointed by the Attorney-General, rigorously vetted and entrusted with handling classified evidence under stringent confidentiality rules. In cases like the one concerned, they provide essential, albeit constrained, scrutiny of the government's actions.
The search of a special advocate's chambers and the seizure of documents from secure storage constitutes a serious interference with defence independence and the integrity of closed material proceedings. This is particularly grave in a procedural context in which the right to defence is already significantly restricted.
The invocation of 'national security' has increasingly been used across jurisdictions to shield executive action from scrutiny and to normalise intrusive measures affecting privileged communications and lawyers challenging state conduct. The protection of confidential lawyer-client material is not a discretionary safeguard; it is an essential guarantee against abuses of power.
The IBAHRI calls for full transparency regarding the legal basis, authorisation and oversight of this operation; the immediate return of all seized privileged materials; and accountability should any misconduct be established. No security imperative can legitimise assaults on legal professional privilege beyond the remits of the law.
https://www.ibanet.org/IBAHRI-condemns-UK-search-into-the-chambers-of-a-barrister-working-on-a-Guantanamo-detainee-case
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