The aim of this paper is to show that in recent times (and certainly since the enactment of the U.K. Human Rights Act 1998) there has been a subtle but nonetheless significant change in British constitutional law. Using case law dealing with questions of national security post-9/11, this paper argues that there has been a “constitutional shift” from a completely hands-off judicial approach (as embodied in the doctrine of nonjusticiability) to a more hands-on approach (as embodied in the idea of a variable intensity of review combined with a degree of deference).