Part of Justice and Security Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:15 pm on 5 February 2013.
Andrew Slaughter
Shadow Minister (Justice)
4:15,
5 February 2013
I have listened to what the Minister has said. He is a little complacent in relation to the appointment of the special advocate. What he proposes is a substantial potential extension of the CMP. He says, and I hope he is right, that the effect of the Bill, even as it is currently drafted, will apply in only a handful of cases a year. Certainly, the response to the Joint Committee report that was published last week indicates that there are about seven new civil cases a year. If the Minister is right about that, so be it.
The potential for extending CMPs into a substantial area of the civil law field could mean that over a period of time—none of us can foresee the future—there is substantial additional reliance on that. It would be sensible to define more closely the way in which the special advocates are appointed and work with both the court and the excluded party. That is what the amendments seek to do. They are probing amendments and I do not intend to divide the Committee. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Amendment.
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