What is the effect of secret documents being made public?

81. I would repeat that no claim is made here on the basis of the nature of the policy discussed in the documents. If the certificate had particularized that their divulgence should be withheld on the ground, for example, that they relate or would affect such matters as national security or diplomatic relations, that would be another matter. If the certificate was properly framed, the court might in such a case well agree to their being withheld even without inspection; see in this context Goguen v. Gibson, supra. For on such issues, it is often unwise even for members of the judiciary to be aware of their contents, and the period in which they should remain secret may be very long.