Determination on the Admissibility of In Camera Evidence

Recently the Court reached a determination that certain in camera evidence related to the present case should remain classified and redacted to the fullest extent, rendering its review by the appellant impossible. A request for the public disclosure of an additional piece of evidence has been received. Following a process of internal discussion, the Court has decided as follows.

Cabinet’s Counsel indicated in a prior testimony that the logs of the conversation between Ever Wandering Souls and Imkitopia, used to justify Item #2 of the Determination of Hostility, is classified. Pursuant to that declaration, both Cabinet’s Counsel and Appellant’s Counsel submitted their copies of the aforementioned logs to the Court by means of private messages.

Since then, the Court has had an opportunity to review the logs and evaluate whether they contain information that would damage regional interests or security, therefore justifying their continued classification, or any level of redaction.

These logs show private discussions between officials from two separate regions; they provide valuable context to the assertions made by the Cabinet and the Appellant. While common practice is to keep such discussions between officials private, so future discussions can be held with candor, the Court finds that no sensitive information is pretend in these logs that could cause damage the security of the region, or affect its interests.

In view of this finding, and pursuant to Article 8 of the Judicial Act, the Court authorises both parties to this case to freely disclose, cite and discuss the full contents of those portions of the conversation between Ever Wandering Souls and Imkitopia that were previously submitted in camera.

It is the intention of the Court to further clarify that neither the disclosure of in camera evidence, nor the decision to withhold its release, constitute any indication of the value of the evidence in question, or of the likelihood that they will strengthen or weaken the argument made by any given party to a case.