Clause 44
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
1:00 pm
Edward Garnier (Shadow Minister, Justice; Harborough, Conservative)
I am happy that what I am about to say will conclude our deliberations on clauses 44 to 46. I would like to ask the Minister, using the excuse of these amendments, about the power in clause 45(1) for the Secretary of State to
“give a notice to the Commissioner”
regarding
“the disclosure of—
(a) any document or information specified in the notice, or
(b) any description of document or information so specified”.
Is that decision by the Secretary of State challengeable, or does the Secretary of State’s view that the disclosure of the document would
“prejudice national security or would otherwise be contrary to the public interest”
mean that the decision cannot be challenged, and that that would be it? I have not expressed my question very lucidly, but I hope that the Minister understands what I am trying to ask. Is the Secretary of State’s opinion unchallengeable, or can the courts review that decision?