ABSTRACT
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) was set up in 1998 in response to the European Court of Human Rights' condemnation of the lack of judicial safeguards for those facing deportation from the United Kingdom for national security reasons. The European Court's judgment referred to a 'more effective form of judicial control' used in Canada, employing techniques which 'both accommodate legitimate security concerns about the nature and sources of intelligence information and yet accord the individual a substantial measure of procedural justice'. The Act and the Rules clarify that the Home Office may not let appellants to SIAC or their representatives know details of the case against them, or serve them with material whose disclosure is believed to pose a risk to national security. Despite the strength and cogency of the objections, the Government proceeded with legislation extending closed material procedures to any civil case engaging national security.
