Three Arab men have asked the Canadian Supreme Court to overturn measures that allow foreign-born terror suspects to be held for years without charge.
The men argue that detaining them indefinitely or deporting them back to their homelands to face possible torture violates the constitution.
Canadian intelligence services accuse the three of having ties to al-Qaeda.
The case comes amid an intense security debate in Canada after 17 people were held over an alleged bomb plot.
The three-day hearing began on Tuesday with the men's lawyers asking the Supreme Court to quash the special measures because they circumvent normal judicial process and are thus unconstitutional.
They also challenged the conditions of the men's detention and the government's refusal to disclose the evidence against them.
"Cases should be heard fully and publicly by an independent and impartial court," said Joanne Doyon, who represents one of the men, Adil Charkaoui.
"I am asking for the same rights as any Canadian, as any human being," said Mr Charkaoui, who together with Mohamed Harkat and Hassan Almrei is challenging the legislation.
"They cage us like animals...threaten us with deportation to countries where we would face torture and certain death."
National security
The men have been accused of having links to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The government says Mr Charkaoui trained at an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan. It says Mr Almrei arrived on a false passport and belonged to a forgery ring linked to a terror group, while a lower court judge has found that Mr Harkat lied about having ties to al-Qaeda.
The men say they are innocent and say they fear being tortured or killed if forced to return to their home countries, Algeria, Morocco and Syria.
The Canadian government decided that while the men challenged their deportation in the courts, it was too great a risk to allow them to be at liberty in Canada. They were, however, free to leave Canada at any time.
The security certificate programme has been enshrined in Canadian law since 1978.
It allows the federal government to detain or deport immigrants without charge and without providing evidence to their lawyers.
The government says a certificate is only issued when there is a need to use sensitive information that needs to be protected for reasons of national security or for the safety of any person.
Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, the measures have been used to jail five terror suspects, including the three appellants.
Mr Charkaoui was subsequently released on strict bail conditions.
Federal lawyers are arguing that the security measures and the exceptional secrecy in these cases are essential to safeguard intelligence sources.
The Supreme Court is expected to take several months to issue a ruling.
(BBC)
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