On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:21:52 +0100, "Tim Bedding" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>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. If the -potential- for abuse exists, you can bet the farm that abuse will also exist. That's just a fact of human nature. >To say that the UK system must be flawed because of other >regimes is to say that all apples must be oranges. I agree, such a statement -is- flawed, and that's why I didn't say anything of the sort. You asked for examples of abuse of secret evidence. Criminal prosecution based upon secret evidence is a common characteristic of authoritarian governments, which is why I noted such governments as examples of abuse. But abuse is certainly not limited to authoritarian governments. >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. I think you mixed up the cause and effect. The -cause- is human psychology. The -effect- is abuse. The type of government has little or nothing to do with the cause of the abuse, but if any government allows the potential for abuse to exist then it most definitely will. ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
