Friday, December 09, 2005

John Gilmore in court

John Gilmore has finally had his appeal court hearing on his challenge to the secret US government regulations apparently making it compulsory for airlines to demand identification or subject a prospective passenger to a pat down search before boarding a flight.

There's some symmetry to the appearance of this hearing in the immediate wake of the UK House of Lords decision a couple of days ago ruling that evidence obtained under torture in foreign jurisdiction was not admissable in cases against terror suspects. The Court of Appeal had created quite a stir last year when they decided that such evidence could be used as long as the UK hadn't been involved in or condoned the torture.

Lord Bingham, said: "The issue is one of constitutional principle, whether evidence obtained by torturing another human being may lawfully be admitted against a party to proceedings in a British court, irrespective of where, or by whom, or on whose authority the torture was inflicted. To that question I would give a very clear negative answer."

MI5 chief, Eliza Manningham-Buller, told the law lords that she needed to rely on foreign intelligence to save lives, which is undoubtedly true. But the government lawyer's translation of that into the notion that they should not check the integrity or source of the intelligence, just in case it might upset the countries that do endorse and carry out torture, has got no basis in any kind of principle.

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