Closed Material Procedures In Immigration Cases

When an individual challenges a decision made by a public body (as happens in immigration cases), it is generally considered a fundamental feature of natural justice and fairness that they must be shown the evidence relied on by the decision-maker. In the words of Lord Denning:

"If the right to be heard is to be a real right which is worth anything, it must carry with it a right in the accused man to know the case which is made against him. He must know what evidence has been given and what statements have been made affecting him: and then he must be given a fair opportunity to correct or contradict them [...] It follows, of course, that the judge or whoever has to adjudicate must not hear evidence or receive representations from one side behind the back of the other."