A v Home Secretary (No 2)
A v Home Secretary (No 2) [2005] UKHL 71 is a UK constitutional law case, concerning the rule of law.
| A v Home Secretary (No 2) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | House of Lords |
| Keywords | |
| Rule of law | |
Facts
Information had been obtained through torture of terrorist suspects by US armed forces and passed to UK officials.
Judgment
The House of Lords held that evidence obtained or likely obtained by torture committed abroad by a foreign state’s agents is inadmissible in proceedings before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
Lord Bingham said the following.
51. .... it would of course be within the power of a sovereign Parliament (in breach of international law) to confer power on [a tribunal] to receive third party torture evidence. But the English common law has regarded torture and its fruits with abhorrence for over 500 years, and the abhorrence is now shared by over 140 countries which have acceded to the Torture Convention.