Sentence examples for material procedure are from inspiring English sources

Upholding the High Court rulings in favour of closed hearings, he said "appropriate safeguards against inappropriate or excessive use of a closed material procedure are built into the provisions themselves".

Leading appeal judge Lord Justice Richards declared: "A closed material procedure is a serious departure from the fundamental principles of open justice and natural justice, but it is a departure that Parliament has authorised by the 2013 Act in defined circumstances for the protection of national security".

He said if closed material procedure is to be made available it must be on what he describes as "strict conditions" and only after it has been triggered by a court, not the government.

"Closed material procedures are inherently unfair to the excluded party," their response says.

Closed material procedures are currently used in employment tribunals, special immigration appeals commission hearings and the investigatory powers tribunal, which handles complaints about the intelligence services.

It will now be up to a judge, rather than a minister, to make the final decision on whether "closed material procedures" are appropriate.

"I do not believe closed material procedures are ideal, but in the very exceptional circumstances where national security is at stake, they offer the only practical means of delivering justice where otherwise there would be none".

Some commentators have also not noticed that there is consensus between all three major parties that closed material procedures are a necessary tool for judges to use in a small minority of civil cases.

The upper chamber "now has an opportunity to insist that judges be given more power to defend the interests of justice and that closed material procedures are a measure of last resort," The Observer newspaper commented Sunday in an editorial.

"I do believe closed material procedures are a way that the judiciary can make a judgement on the validity of these claims and give a ruling and give judgement.

Speculation about the cases which the government has lined up for consideration under "closed material procedures" is rife.