Member

While proceedings involving CHISs may occur behind closed doors in courts for reasons of national security or privacy, the defence-based model at least ensures a vital layer of accountability. A defence-based approach would subject CHIS holders’ activities to independent prosecutorial and judicial oversight after the covert source commits the offence. Similarly, the defence-based model, in particular judicial and prosecutorial oversight, will protect victims of CHIS actions and curb misuse of CCAs. By allowing a robust and open challenge by those affected by covert source activity in court, a defence-based model would help to uphold public confidence in the rule of law. The abuse of covert sources in Northern Ireland became a major cause of huge levels of criminal activity by sources who were completely unaccountable to the law. When people tried to report to the law the criminal activities of those CHISs, the law did not deal with them, because the CHISs were protected—so this can become a very serious problem.