Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2012

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2012 Grand Committee

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley)]

My Lords, I shall speak also to the Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) (Amendment No. 4) 2012 order. The two statutory instruments introduce procedural rules for court proceedings under the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011. They add a new part to the civil procedure rules for England and Wales, and a new order to the rules of the Court of Judicature for Northern Ireland. The rules came into force on 15 January last year—the same date that the Act came into force—because it was necessary for TPIM proceedings to take place soon after commencement. However, the Act requires subsequent approval of the rules by each House, which is why we are here today.

The rules substantively reflect the rules that are already in place for control order proceedings. They set out the procedures to be followed when the Secretary of State applies to the court for permission to impose a TPIM notice—or for the court to confirm, or quash, one imposed without prior permission—and for the subsequent directions hearings and review hearings that must be held. The rules also set out the process for an individual to appeal against decisions made by the Secretary of State in relation to a TPIM notice.

The guiding principles behind the court rules are that the decisions that are the subject of the proceedings are properly reviewed; and that the court must ensure that information is not disclosed contrary to the public interest. The rules provide that sensitive “closed material” may be relied upon and must be protected, although the requirements of a fair trial take precedence. They also make provision about the role and functions of special advocates, who may be appointed by the Attorney-General to represent the interests of the individual in closed proceedings.

In our recent debates on the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act, the use of closed material and special advocates was explored in some detail. Closed material proceedings are undoubtedly controversial, I accept that, but are necessary to ensure that there can be effective judicial oversight of TPIM decisions, which inevitably rely upon sensitive material.

I can assure the Committee that the use of closed material and special advocates in this type of context is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, a position that the courts have confirmed. Indeed, the Act expressly provides that the rules do not require the court to act in a way inconsistent with Article 6 of the ECHR, the right to a fair trial. This is also the effect of the Human Rights Act.

Notwithstanding that the system is ECHR compatible, we understand that concerns remain. The Green Paper on justice and security is looking carefully at the use of sensitive information in civil proceedings, including suggestions as to how the special advocate system can be improved.

The rules provide a framework within which the Secretary of State, legal representatives, special advocates and the court work. In line with those provisions, the Lord Chief Justices of England and Wales and of Northern Ireland were consulted on the draft rules. Moreover, the Civil Procedure Rules Committee was given the opportunity to comment on a draft. I commend the rules and I beg to move.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his explanation of the two Motions that have been spoken to together. I also thank him for the invitation in our last debate for a meeting with the UK Border Agency chief executive. The noble Lord, Lord Avebury, would wish me to say that we would very much appreciate that opportunity.

We have had extensive debates about the TPIM legislation going through your Lordships’ House, and this is not the moment for me to engage with the noble Lord in another debate on the principle. However, I would like to ask the noble Lord a couple of questions. First, I understand that nine people are currently subject to control orders. Would he be able to confirm that? Can he confirm that all nine people will be the subject of applications in relation to TPIM notices? He will be aware that, of course, a high threshold is required for the imposition of a TPIM notice. The TPIM regime provides for more tightly prescribed powers than control orders. It is therefore reasonable to ask him whether the new regime is intended to apply to all these nine people currently subject to control orders. If it is considered that there are some people who will not meet the new threshold, can he provide some satisfaction in relation to the safeguarding of security interests in relation to those people? I understand that this is a sensitive issue and that the noble Lord may be somewhat restricted in what he has to say, but he will probably get the drift of the general principle that I am putting forward here, which essentially is this. What are the differences between the current control orders and the TPIM notices?

I should like the noble Lord to reassure me about the state of readiness of the police and the security services for the new regime. We have the transition period that will allow the new circumstances to be brought into operation. I shall not go over in great detail the evidence given by the Metropolitan Police to the Special Bill Committee which considered the Bill in the other place, but he will be aware that at that point, the representative of the Metropolitan Police said that it would take at least a year to get the right equipment, resources and people in place in order to be able to implement the new regime. In our debates on the Bill as it went through your Lordships’ House, the Minister and his predecessor were confident that the arrangements would be in place sooner than the period of 12 months. Is he satisfied that the appropriate people are in place, that they have been trained and that they have the right equipment so that the new regime can start in good order from the date set out in the order?

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, I cannot comment on whether the nine individuals referred to by the noble Lord will transfer to TPIM notices, but what lay behind the gist of his question was whether people, in terms of civil procedures, come under what used to be referred to as the White Book. We are not immediately repealing the old civil procedure, so any that were being dealt with in the courts using the old civil procedures, those procedures will still apply, but the new TPIM ones will be covered by what we are debating today, and they came into effect in December.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

That is very helpful. I realise that it is difficult for the Minister to talk about individual people who are affected, but on a theoretical basis, if a person is currently under a control order, is it possible for them to continue under that order? Is that what the noble Lord is saying?

[Lord Henley]

What I am saying is that if they were still under a control order, they would be dealt with under the old control order civil procedings. I do not think that I can take the noble Lord much further. All I am saying is that we have not repealed the old orders. If they were being looked at under a control order, they will continue under the control order proceedings, and these broadly reflect those proceedings. As I have said, all we are dealing with here is the process of making amendments to civil procedure. It is therefore still possible to use the old procedure for those who are covered by it. But, obviously, control orders will not continue beyond 25 January, at which point it will be a TPIM. What we are debating here is the civil procedure. I hope that that deals with the noble Lord’s queries.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

I do not want to be difficult. All I seek is a reassurance. I understand entirely what the noble Lord is saying about the basis for the civil procedure, but I am really looking for some reassurance that he is satisfied that as we move from a control order regime to the new regime, the people who were affected under the old control order regime and need to be subject to those provisions will, in the new circumstances of TPIM and given that the security provisions are paramount, indeed be subject to them.

[Lord Henley]

Obviously those provisions are of paramount importance, but as I made clear in my opening remarks, the right to a fair trial is also equally important.

The second major point made by the noble Lord was on the state of readiness of the police, which goes wider than the matter we are debating today. The noble Lord rightly said that when I introduced these rules, I made it clear that I was confident that that was the case, but before he even asked the question, he wrote down that I had moved from being confident to being satisfied, which formed the basis of the question he put to me. I can give the noble Lord an assurance that I am satisfied that everything is in place as it should be, and that I think the same is true of the police. With that, I hope that the Motion will be agreed.