Question
in Secretary of State for the Home Department v AF, AM and AN [2009] UKHL 28 one of the main issues was whether it was possible, consistently with the right to a fair hearing guaranteed in the ECHR, art 6(1), for suspects to be told of allegations only in general terms, with the details being treated as closed material. By a majority of 8:1 the House of Lords departed from its previous findings made in Re MB. The House of Lords held that where the disclosed material consisted only of general assertions and where the case against the 'controlled person' was [...], the right to a fair trial under the ECHR, art 6(1) would not be satisfied. Article 6(1) of the ECHR required a 'core irreducible minimum' of procedural fairness such that: 'the controlled person must be given sufficient information about the allegations against him to give effective instructions to the Special Advocate'. The House of Lords read down the relevant Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 provision, using its powers under the Human Rights Act 1998, s 3(1), and remitted the appellants' cases back to the High Court for further consideration.