Law Lords ruling means that defendant has right to know who witnesses are and can cross-examine.

[Callisto]

I'm suprised that you're not discussing this already as it has huge implications in getting convictions for violent crime. Here is the (Reuters) article: uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL2122923520080621

I gather they are going to change the law quickly anyway so it may not matter.

Of course it would help if convicted criminals were not let out again before you had time to get home and put the kettle on.

I dunno what to think about this or about the proposed law change. This government doesn't exactly have a great reputation for well thought-out law or for preserving judicial safeguards - but OTOH it seems self-evident that there are plenty of extremely nasty criminals who would be prosecuted more effectively if people could give evidence anonymously.

under common law you have the right to face your accusers and you have the utmost presumption of innocence.
allowing anonymous witnesses immidiately puts both those rights on unsteady ground.

But those rights aren't absolute, are they (I'm thinking of trials in which accusers give video evidence, or in trials involving national sercurity in which witnesses give evidence from behind a screen and are referred to as Witness A, etc).

I suppose the question is, what conditions are going to be laid down in the new legislation.