Each claimant wished to commence proceedings for matters arising from their detention in Guantanamo Bay by the US. They sought disclosure of Guidance materials and similar relating to the detention and treatment of detainees. The defendant resisted saying that disclosure was premature and would not further the interests of justice. It was said that the involvement by the defendant made it a proper defendant in an action for damages.
Held: The extent of the disclosure involved would require some 250,000 documents to be considered individually for PII certification. These particular documents could be disclosed without distorting the remaining process: ‘the balancing exercise leads to the clear result that the Guidance documents should be disclosed and subject to a PII hearing to determine how much of it can be inspected. The extraordinary past and anticipated delays in disclosure of the Guidance documents requires the court to take decisive actions to ensure that the claims progress and that means making the orders now sought by the claimants.’ It remained open for the defendant to consider a PII certificate and its consequences within the timetable provided.
Silber J
[2010] EWHC 1496 (QB)
Bailii
England and Wales
Litigation Practice
Updated: 10 November 2021; Ref: scu.417094