Law and Rights
The Central London Employment Tribunal has decided a case in which it emerged that, over a period of some 30 years, a blacklist of workers has been maintained on behalf of the construction industry - The Guardian 3rd March 2012 - "Police are linked to a blacklist of construction workers." and also see Weightmans LLP - "Tribunal rules against worker blacklisted for raising health and safety concerns."
The tribunal case involved a Mr David Smith, who had a 36-page file against his name and was victimised repeatedly for highlighting safety hazards on sites, including the presence of asbestos. David Clancy, investigations manager at the Information Commissioner's Office, told the Central London Employment Tribunal adjudicating on Smith's claims against construction giant Carillion that "there is information on the Consulting Association files that I believe could only be supplied by the police or the security services". It further appears that a civil action in the High Court is under consideration against some 39 companies. Some 100 victims are seeking redress.
In the light of the government's proposals for Closed Material Procedure (CMP) in certain
civil actions involving "sensitive material", it is interesting to consider whether such a procedure could apply in an action such as Mr Smith's before an Employment Tribunal or in an action in the courts such as that under consideration. I think that the answer is undoubtedly, YES. The allegation of Police involvement or Security Service (MI5) involvement would be enough to get the Secretary of State to trigger a CMP and thus close down public sight of the evidence. The issue of whether these bodies supplied information will be viewed by Ministers as "sensitive" justifying use of the procedure.
No one should therefore be so complacent as to think that Closed Material Procedure will be confined simply to cases against the government itself such as the Binyam Mohamed situation where security force collusion in torture at venues abroad was alleged and where the government sought to uphold a principle of confidentiality in relation to intelligence supplied to the UK by an ally (the USA).
For more on Justice and Security / Closed Material Procedure see Law and Lawyers "Secret Courts Condemned" which, in turn, links to earlier posts. The Justice and Security green paper itself indicates that government concerns might be raised in certain employment cases. "Gisting" has already been used in a number of employment cases - see, in particular, the Supreme Court's decision in Tariq [2011] UKSC 35.
Blacklist blog -"Law fails blacklisted worker"
- Information Rights ~ Secrecy ~ An Interesting Case In The Pipeline
The expansion of secrecy in the courts: The Joint Committee on Human Rights 16th report refers to there being 21 areas where special advocates could be used. Para 58 of the 16th report stated: "The Government replied that it was difficult to provide...
- The Justice And Security Bill ~ Gathering The Threads
26th September - Updated with additional material The political and legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) wrote - "In the darkness of secrecy, sinister interest and evil in every shape have full swing ... Publicity is the very soul of justice...
- Secret Courts Condemned
"Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy, ought never to be the system of a regular government" - Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Until this week, reaction to the government's green paper on "Justice and Security" has been muted. It has taken...
- Justice And Security Green Paper - Human Rights Conference - Law Of Contract Online
Justice and Security Green Paper: The government's Green Paper "Justice and Security" has been open for consultation since October 2011. The consultation closes on 6th January 2012. The proposals relate to civil proceedings and inquests...
- The Justice And Security Green Paper: Part 1 - The Government's Case.
Introduction: In November 2010, the Secretary of State for Justice (Rt. Hon. Kenneth Clarke QC MP) announced the negotiated settlement of litigation brought by individuals who claimed that the U.K. was implicated in their torture - see "Guantanamo civil...
Law and Rights
Blacklisted workers and "Justice and Security"
The tribunal case involved a Mr David Smith, who had a 36-page file against his name and was victimised repeatedly for highlighting safety hazards on sites, including the presence of asbestos. David Clancy, investigations manager at the Information Commissioner's Office, told the Central London Employment Tribunal adjudicating on Smith's claims against construction giant Carillion that "there is information on the Consulting Association files that I believe could only be supplied by the police or the security services". It further appears that a civil action in the High Court is under consideration against some 39 companies. Some 100 victims are seeking redress.
In the light of the government's proposals for Closed Material Procedure (CMP) in certain
civil actions involving "sensitive material", it is interesting to consider whether such a procedure could apply in an action such as Mr Smith's before an Employment Tribunal or in an action in the courts such as that under consideration. I think that the answer is undoubtedly, YES. The allegation of Police involvement or Security Service (MI5) involvement would be enough to get the Secretary of State to trigger a CMP and thus close down public sight of the evidence. The issue of whether these bodies supplied information will be viewed by Ministers as "sensitive" justifying use of the procedure.
No one should therefore be so complacent as to think that Closed Material Procedure will be confined simply to cases against the government itself such as the Binyam Mohamed situation where security force collusion in torture at venues abroad was alleged and where the government sought to uphold a principle of confidentiality in relation to intelligence supplied to the UK by an ally (the USA).
For more on Justice and Security / Closed Material Procedure see Law and Lawyers "Secret Courts Condemned" which, in turn, links to earlier posts. The Justice and Security green paper itself indicates that government concerns might be raised in certain employment cases. "Gisting" has already been used in a number of employment cases - see, in particular, the Supreme Court's decision in Tariq [2011] UKSC 35.
Further links:
Blacklist blog -"Law fails blacklisted worker"
- Information Rights ~ Secrecy ~ An Interesting Case In The Pipeline
The expansion of secrecy in the courts: The Joint Committee on Human Rights 16th report refers to there being 21 areas where special advocates could be used. Para 58 of the 16th report stated: "The Government replied that it was difficult to provide...
- The Justice And Security Bill ~ Gathering The Threads
26th September - Updated with additional material The political and legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) wrote - "In the darkness of secrecy, sinister interest and evil in every shape have full swing ... Publicity is the very soul of justice...
- Secret Courts Condemned
"Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy, ought never to be the system of a regular government" - Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Until this week, reaction to the government's green paper on "Justice and Security" has been muted. It has taken...
- Justice And Security Green Paper - Human Rights Conference - Law Of Contract Online
Justice and Security Green Paper: The government's Green Paper "Justice and Security" has been open for consultation since October 2011. The consultation closes on 6th January 2012. The proposals relate to civil proceedings and inquests...
- The Justice And Security Green Paper: Part 1 - The Government's Case.
Introduction: In November 2010, the Secretary of State for Justice (Rt. Hon. Kenneth Clarke QC MP) announced the negotiated settlement of litigation brought by individuals who claimed that the U.K. was implicated in their torture - see "Guantanamo civil...