Frank > It's not a matter of tradition but of history. If you want > crystal clear examples of the potential for abuse of > "secret evidence" then > study the political history of just about any authoritarian > regime, especially the USSR.
I am not saying that all regimes that employed secret evidence had no abuse. All that history may be able to show is that those particular regimes which used secret evidence in a particular way had problems. This does not show that secret evidence inevitably results in abuse. To say that the UK system must be flawed because of other regimes is to say that all apples must be oranges. However, apples and oranges are different items. So, I would return to the idea of evaluating the particular UK system to see if it is lacking. Take Stalin and his purges for example. Those were arbitrary acts of a dictator involving show trials. The UK system, although claimed to be flawed, is not one of a dictator. The claim by opponents of the system (like HRW) is that the system is flawed not that it involves show trials. If you disagree with anything above, it would be interesting to know. Regards Tim Babylon 5 - Eyes Garibaldi: They twist the facts to their own satisfaction and always assume you have something to hide. _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
