The High Court (Jay J) has held that Article 6 ECHR does not apply to claims concerning decisions not to provide consular assistance.
The underlying proceedings concern a British national (C3) who is alleged to have travelled to Syria in 2014 and aligned with ISIL. C3 requested consular assistance from the Foreign Secretary to repatriate her and her children to the UK.
Following disclosure by the Defendant, C3 claimed that she was entitled to the higher level of disclosure in national security cases, as described in Home Secretary v AF (No 3) [2009] UKHL 28. Jay J refused the application, finding that Article 6 ECHR did not apply to the proceedings. AF (No 3) disclosure was not required.
Jonathan Worboys acted for the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, led by Kate Grange KC and Jason Pobjoy KC, with Grant Kynaston and Thomas Jones.
The judgment can be found here.
