'Naval Secrets’, Public Interest Immunity and Open Justice
In Karine Bannelier, Sarah Heathcote and Theodore Christakis (eds) The ICJ and the Evolution of International Law: The Enduring Impact of the Corfu Channel Case (Routledge, New York, 2012) 124.
Victoria University of Wellington Legal Research Paper Series, Keith Paper No. 8/2017
24 Pages Posted: 17 Mar 2014 Last revised: 31 Oct 2017
Date Written: 2012
Abstract
This chapter concerns one particular potential obstacle to a court's access to relevant evidence: a claim that evidence should not be made available in order to protect rights to confidentiality or other important public interests. It broadly considers how, in the evidentiary context, the law should treat the competing claims, and whether one interest or the other should always prevail or, if not, how the balance should be struck. To answer these questions, Sir Kenneth Keith examines the major ways in which law and practice in national and international jurisdictions have changed in the sixty years since the Corfu Channel case was decided. He considers changing practice in common law courts and the role of national and international legislatures in regulating disclosure. The author then provides a 'behind the scenes' look at the Corfu Channel case; this provides the background for an analysis of the case in light of subsequent practice. The chapter concludes with some suggested lessons for the future.
Note: Abstract by Juliet Bull.
Keywords: Corfu Channel, evidence, national security, state secrecy, official information
JEL Classification: K40, K41, K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation