Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

It is not the SDLP that is trying to restrict the role of a judge, but the legislation. The Bill would restrict the right of a judge even to question the issue of a certificate. It would ensure that the certificate could not be challenged or even questioned in court or by the court. Will the hon. Lady take this opportunity to tell me how a defendant or their lawyer can mount a judicial review on grounds of dishonesty, bad faith or error in law when the certificate contains no information? How can they challenge the grounds when no information is given? An impossible position will be created for defendants and an invidious one for the courts. I think much better of the Northern Ireland judiciary than to believe that they should be put in a position whereby the DPP alone can say, ““I’m issuing a certificate and that’s that””, especially as the Secretary of State told the House on 13 December 2006 that the DPP might be acting simply on advice and information received from the security services. The Secretary of State volunteered that information—he was not asked or challenged to do so. When he was asked to explain what the impairment of the administration of justice meant, he said that the DPP might be acting on information from the security services that national security or intelligence sources could be compromised.