Attorney General Sues SOE Review Tribunal After Failed Privy Council Bid, Threatening Constitutional Safeguards for Detainees

The Attorney General’s Office has launched legal action against the State of Emergency Review Tribunal, challenging its recommendations that Dominic and Genevieve Hadeed be released from preventive detention. The move follows a series of setbacks for the Government, including a failed bid to fast-track an appeal before the Privy Council.

The Tribunal had ruled that the Hadeeds’ continued detention was “not necessary or expedient in the public interest.” The State appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, seeking an expedited hearing, but was refused. Hours later, Minister Roger Alexander revoked the Preventive Detention Orders, ending the Hadeeds’ nearly month-long detention without charge.

Their release and the Government’s failed legal manoeuvres were reported internationally by Reuters. The Minister had previously asked the Tribunal to withdraw its preliminary recommendations and reopen the review, but the Tribunal refused. Now, the State is suing over the findings of the very constitutional mechanism designed to scrutinise executive detention.

Section 11 of the Constitution guarantees that anyone detained under emergency legislation is entitled to review by an independent tribunal. The State’s lawsuit challenges that safeguard, seeking to set aside the Tribunal’s recommendations. Legal observers warn this could allow the Government to issue fresh detention orders, undermining constitutional protections.

The implications extend beyond the Hadeeds. Every person detained without charge under emergency powers relies on the Tribunal for independent review. The State’s litigation signals that an adverse recommendation may trigger further legal battles, prolonged detention, and executive resistance—rendering the safeguard meaningless.

“The State detained citizens without charge, resisted the Tribunal, fought the Court of Appeal, failed at the Privy Council, and revoked the PDOs under international scrutiny,” one analyst noted. “Now it is suing over the recommendations that exposed the weakness of its position.” The Hadeeds are home, but the Government’s legal fight continues, with outcomes that could determine the fate of others detained under emergency powers.