Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001
Encyclopedia
The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was formally introduced into the Parliament of the United Kingdom
on 19 November 2001, two months after the terrorist attacks on New York
on 11 September. It received royal assent
and came into force on 14 December 2001. Many of its measures are not specifically related to terrorism, and a Parliamentary committee was critical of the swift timetable for such a long Bill including non emergency measures.
On 16 December 2004 the Law Lords ruled that Part 4 was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights
, but under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998
it remained in force. It has since been replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
.
relating to seizure of suspected terrorist assets.
.
invoked this part of the Act within the Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008
to freeze the British assets of Icelandic bank Landsbanki
during the Icelandic financial crisis, by virtue of the fact that the Treasury reasonably believed that "action to the detriment of the United Kingdom's economy (or part of it) has been or is likely to be taken by a person or persons."
Unless explicitly stated, the short title of an Act does not limit the powers expressed within it. The Act does not say "terrorism-related action to the detriment of the United Kingdom's economy". Indeed, the government had defeated attempts to restrict Part 2 to terrorism-related cases during the passage of the Bill through the House of Lords. The long title of the Act lists "to provide for the freezing of assets" as a separate item from "To amend the Terrorism Act 2000; to make further provision about terrorism and security".
Iceland's prime minister Geir Haarde
protested against what he described "a terrorist law [...] being applied against us", calling it "a completely unfriendly act".
and Inland Revenue
(now merged into Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
) to require the disclosure of information "for law enforcement purposes". It also clarifies the existing requirements to disclose information for criminal investigations, particularly in relation to confidential information held by public bodies.
to certify any non-British citizen whom he suspected to be a terrorist and detain them indefinitely, pending deportation, even when such a deportation would be prohibited. The Law Lords ruled against the law in a case brought by eight of the detained suspected terrorists on 16 December 2004 and the measure was effectively abolished the following March when it was up for review. Its powers were replaced with "control order
s", brought in by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
.
allows for the deportation of those who are a threat to national security for cases where there is insufficient admissible evidence for prosecution, however a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights
in the case of Chahal v United Kingdom in 1996, ruled that deportation of persons to another country was not allowed if there were substantial grounds for believing that the person would be subjected to torture. As a result, the government argued that this provision was necessary to overcome this conjunction of legal and security problems, and allow indefinite detention without charge or trial.
Since this measure was known to step beyond the bounds of Article 5 of the ECHR, the government included section 30 to allow for a derogation (an opt out), claiming that since there was a "state of emergency threatening the life of the nation" (just one interpretation of the War on Terror
) which allowed it to do this. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission
was to oversee the process.
The derogation order came into force on 13 November 2001, and was repealed on 8 April 2005. Between those dates the government claimed that there existed in the United Kingdom a state of public emergency threatening the life of the nation, within the meaning of Article 15(1) of the ECHR.
This part was renewed by Parliament on 3 March 2003 without a vote, and on 3 March 2004 with a vote.
. Eight were detained in December 2001, one in February 2002, two in April 2002, one in October 2002, one in November 2002, two in January 2002 and one in October 2003. One further individual has been certified but is detained under other powers. Of the total detained, two have voluntarily left the United Kingdom. The other fourteen remained in detention as of 18 November 2003. The Council of Europe reported in a document dated 23/07/2004 that according to information supplied to their delegation by the authorities, in March 2004, there were fourteen persons certified as suspected international terrorists and deprived of their liberty in the United Kingdom. Twelve of them were being detained exclusively under Part 4 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, of whom half since December 2001.
In October 2002 the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
decided that the Home Secretary's derogation was lawful, and that there was indeed a "state of emergency threatening the life of the nation".
A series of legal challenges were made in respect of the powers and processes established under the ATCSA and on December 16 2004, the Law Lords ruled that the powers of detention conferred by Part 4 of ATCSA were incompatible with the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court ruled by a majority of 8–1 that the purported derogation was not authorised by Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights since the measures taken could not rationally be held to be "strictly required by the exigencies of the situation", and were also discriminatory contrary to Article 14 of the Convention.
The ruling could be summed up as follows:
The Court quashed the order derogating from the UK's obligations under the Convention, and issued a declaration pursuant to section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998
that the provisions of the ATCSA which empowered the preventative detention of non-British suspected international terrorists were incompatible with the European Convention. The effect of such a declaration in British law is not to deprive the legislation of legal effect, and Parliament may, if it wishes, refuse to repeal or amend any provision declared to be incompatible. However the making of a declaration of incompatibility carries strong moral force, and creates considerable political pressure to address the incompatibility.
in March 2005. This Act replaces detention in prison with "control order
s" which allow for the imposition of an extensive and non-exhaustive set of conditions on the movements of the suspected person with restrictions approaching a form of house arrest
.
Unlike Part 4 of the ATCSA, the powers in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 can be applied to British and non-British suspected terrorists alike. At the time of its enactment there was considerable debate as to the compatibility of this Act's provisions with domestic and international human rights laws.
Eleven control orders were issued on the night the act passed on 11 March 2005 against the terrorist suspects who were due to be released. By October of that year only three were still in force.
. It also made it illegal to disclose information "which might prejudice the security of any nuclear site or of any nuclear material".
to operate in civilian areas outside of military bases in certain circumstances.
It extended the laws against corruption
so to make prosecutions possible for "act[s that] would, if done in the United Kingdom, constitute a corruption offence".
The definitions of corruption offences are in Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889
and Prevention of Corruption Act 1906
.
The Serious Fraud Office
conducted an investigation into the Al Yamamah contract on the back of this strengthened legislation from late 2003 until 14 December 2006 when it was suddenly discontinued.
section of the Maastrict Treaty.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
on 19 November 2001, two months after the terrorist attacks on New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 11 September. It received royal assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
and came into force on 14 December 2001. Many of its measures are not specifically related to terrorism, and a Parliamentary committee was critical of the swift timetable for such a long Bill including non emergency measures.
On 16 December 2004 the Law Lords ruled that Part 4 was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
, but under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
it remained in force. It has since been replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to deal with the Law Lords' ruling of 16 December 2004 that the detention without trial of eight foreigners at HM Prison Belmarsh under Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001...
.
Part 1 (Terrorist property)
Sections 1–3, along with schedules 1 and 100, applied to the finances of suspected terrorists and terrorist organizations. They rewrote parts of the Terrorism Act 2000Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
relating to seizure of suspected terrorist assets.
Part 2 (Freezing orders)
This part re-enacted and widened provisions of the Emergency Laws (Re-enactments and Repeals) Act 1964, which in themselves dated from the Defence (General) Regulations 1939Defence Regulations
During the Second World War Defence Regulations were a fundamental aspect of everyday life in the United Kingdom.They were emergency regulations passed on the outbreak of war and during it to give the government emergency powers to prosecute the war. Two Acts of Parliament were passed as enabling...
.
Usage against Iceland
In October 2008, prime minister Gordon BrownGordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
invoked this part of the Act within the Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008
Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008
The Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008 is an Order of HM Treasury to freeze the assets of Icelandic bank Landsbanki in the United Kingdom made under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, by virtue of the fact that the Treasury reasonably believed that "action to the detriment of the United...
to freeze the British assets of Icelandic bank Landsbanki
Landsbanki
Landsbanki, also commonly known as Landsbankinn in Iceland, is a private Icelandic bank with international operations...
during the Icelandic financial crisis, by virtue of the fact that the Treasury reasonably believed that "action to the detriment of the United Kingdom's economy (or part of it) has been or is likely to be taken by a person or persons."
Unless explicitly stated, the short title of an Act does not limit the powers expressed within it. The Act does not say "terrorism-related action to the detriment of the United Kingdom's economy". Indeed, the government had defeated attempts to restrict Part 2 to terrorism-related cases during the passage of the Bill through the House of Lords. The long title of the Act lists "to provide for the freezing of assets" as a separate item from "To amend the Terrorism Act 2000; to make further provision about terrorism and security".
Iceland's prime minister Geir Haarde
Geir Haarde
Geir Hilmar Haarde was Prime Minister of Iceland from 15 June 2006 to 1 February 2009 and Chairman of the Icelandic Independence Party from 2005 to 2009. Geir initially led a coalition between his party and the Progressive Party...
protested against what he described "a terrorist law [...] being applied against us", calling it "a completely unfriendly act".
Part 3 (Disclosure of information)
This part gives new powers to Her Majesty's Customs and ExciseHer Majesty's Customs and Excise
HM Customs and Excise was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government in the UK. It was responsible for the collection of Value added tax , Customs Duties, Excise Duties, and other indirect taxes such as Air Passenger Duty, Climate Change Levy, Insurance Premium Tax, Landfill Tax and...
and Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
(now merged into Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
) to require the disclosure of information "for law enforcement purposes". It also clarifies the existing requirements to disclose information for criminal investigations, particularly in relation to confidential information held by public bodies.
Part 4 (Immigration and asylum)
Part 4 allowed for the Home SecretaryHome Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
to certify any non-British citizen whom he suspected to be a terrorist and detain them indefinitely, pending deportation, even when such a deportation would be prohibited. The Law Lords ruled against the law in a case brought by eight of the detained suspected terrorists on 16 December 2004 and the measure was effectively abolished the following March when it was up for review. Its powers were replaced with "control order
Control order
A control order is an order made by the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom to restrict an individual's liberty for the purpose of "protecting members of the public from a risk of terrorism". Its definition and power were provided by Parliament in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005...
s", brought in by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to deal with the Law Lords' ruling of 16 December 2004 that the detention without trial of eight foreigners at HM Prison Belmarsh under Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001...
.
Implementation
The Immigration Act 1971Immigration Act 1971
The Immigration Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration.The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of 1968, restricted immigration, especially primary immigration into the UK....
allows for the deportation of those who are a threat to national security for cases where there is insufficient admissible evidence for prosecution, however a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
in the case of Chahal v United Kingdom in 1996, ruled that deportation of persons to another country was not allowed if there were substantial grounds for believing that the person would be subjected to torture. As a result, the government argued that this provision was necessary to overcome this conjunction of legal and security problems, and allow indefinite detention without charge or trial.
Since this measure was known to step beyond the bounds of Article 5 of the ECHR, the government included section 30 to allow for a derogation (an opt out), claiming that since there was a "state of emergency threatening the life of the nation" (just one interpretation of the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
) which allowed it to do this. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission
Special Immigration Appeals Commission
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by the Home Secretary under various statutory powers, and usually related to matters of...
was to oversee the process.
The derogation order came into force on 13 November 2001, and was repealed on 8 April 2005. Between those dates the government claimed that there existed in the United Kingdom a state of public emergency threatening the life of the nation, within the meaning of Article 15(1) of the ECHR.
This part was renewed by Parliament on 3 March 2003 without a vote, and on 3 March 2004 with a vote.
Cases
Between 2001 and 2003 sixteen foreign nationals had been detained and held using these powers at BelmarshBelmarsh (HM Prison)
HM Prison Belmarsh is a Category A men's prison, located in the Thamesmead area of the London Borough of Greenwich, in south-east London, England. Belmarsh Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service...
. Eight were detained in December 2001, one in February 2002, two in April 2002, one in October 2002, one in November 2002, two in January 2002 and one in October 2003. One further individual has been certified but is detained under other powers. Of the total detained, two have voluntarily left the United Kingdom. The other fourteen remained in detention as of 18 November 2003. The Council of Europe reported in a document dated 23/07/2004 that according to information supplied to their delegation by the authorities, in March 2004, there were fourteen persons certified as suspected international terrorists and deprived of their liberty in the United Kingdom. Twelve of them were being detained exclusively under Part 4 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, of whom half since December 2001.
Appeals
The Act did provide a process for appealing to a judicial tribunal against the Home Secretary's decision to detain in each case. However, the government had argued that a special appellate process was needed to deal with these appeals because of the possibility that much of the evidence or information upon which the Home Secretary's suspicions may be based was likely to be sensitive information of a confidential nature whose release to the person detained or the public, might compromise intelligence methods, operatives, and other persons. Therefore the process established by the ATCSA involved special rules of evidence which most notably permitted the exclusion of the detainees and their legal representatives from proceedings. In an attempt to ensure that their rights were safeguarded at these times, special security-vetted 'special advocates' were appointed in the place of their legal representatives. However there is some evidence that these special advocates experienced difficulties effectively protecting their interests, and two of the special advocates subsequently resigned from their positions following the December 2004 ruling of the House of Lords.In October 2002 the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
Special Immigration Appeals Commission
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by the Home Secretary under various statutory powers, and usually related to matters of...
decided that the Home Secretary's derogation was lawful, and that there was indeed a "state of emergency threatening the life of the nation".
A series of legal challenges were made in respect of the powers and processes established under the ATCSA and on December 16 2004, the Law Lords ruled that the powers of detention conferred by Part 4 of ATCSA were incompatible with the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court ruled by a majority of 8–1 that the purported derogation was not authorised by Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights since the measures taken could not rationally be held to be "strictly required by the exigencies of the situation", and were also discriminatory contrary to Article 14 of the Convention.
The ruling could be summed up as follows:
- No detention pending deportation had lasted for more than seven days, let alone three years.
- The law was unjustifiably discriminatory. What if a British citizen was also suspected of terrorism which required that they be detained indefinitely without trial? There was no way to do it.
- There was no observable state of emergency threatening the life of the nation. No other European country which had experience far more severe crises had declared such a state of emergency over such a long time period, and certainly without anyone noticing.
The Court quashed the order derogating from the UK's obligations under the Convention, and issued a declaration pursuant to section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
that the provisions of the ATCSA which empowered the preventative detention of non-British suspected international terrorists were incompatible with the European Convention. The effect of such a declaration in British law is not to deprive the legislation of legal effect, and Parliament may, if it wishes, refuse to repeal or amend any provision declared to be incompatible. However the making of a declaration of incompatibility carries strong moral force, and creates considerable political pressure to address the incompatibility.
Replacement of Part 4
To this end Part 4 of the ATCSA was replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to deal with the Law Lords' ruling of 16 December 2004 that the detention without trial of eight foreigners at HM Prison Belmarsh under Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001...
in March 2005. This Act replaces detention in prison with "control order
Control order
A control order is an order made by the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom to restrict an individual's liberty for the purpose of "protecting members of the public from a risk of terrorism". Its definition and power were provided by Parliament in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005...
s" which allow for the imposition of an extensive and non-exhaustive set of conditions on the movements of the suspected person with restrictions approaching a form of house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
.
Unlike Part 4 of the ATCSA, the powers in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 can be applied to British and non-British suspected terrorists alike. At the time of its enactment there was considerable debate as to the compatibility of this Act's provisions with domestic and international human rights laws.
Eleven control orders were issued on the night the act passed on 11 March 2005 against the terrorist suspects who were due to be released. By October of that year only three were still in force.
Part 5 (Racial hatred)
Substituted "Racially-aggravated" with "Racially or religiously aggravated" in some parts of the criminal law.Parts 6–8 (Weapons of mass destruction)
Made it illegal to deal in biological or chemical weapons, or set off a nuclear explosionNuclear explosion
A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an intentionally high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion based weapons have used a fission device...
. It also made it illegal to disclose information "which might prejudice the security of any nuclear site or of any nuclear material".
Part 9 (Aircraft security)
Allowed for the Secretary of State to make new regulations, and for the detention of aircraft where there is suspicion of an act of violence against a person on the aircraft.Part 10 (Police powers)
Allowed the police to forcefully obtain fingerprints and other identifying features from an individual to ascertain their identity. Also allowed for the Ministry of Defence PoliceMinistry of Defence Police
The Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the larger government agency, the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency , together with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service...
to operate in civilian areas outside of military bases in certain circumstances.
Part 11 (Retention of communications data)
Created wide powers for the Secretary of State to regulate telephone companies and internet providers to retain data for the purpose of national security.Part 12 (Bribery and corruption)
This part extended the laws against bribery to cases where "functions of the person who receives or is offered a reward have no connection with the United Kingdom and are carried out in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom".It extended the laws against corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
so to make prosecutions possible for "act[s that] would, if done in the United Kingdom, constitute a corruption offence".
The definitions of corruption offences are in Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889
Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889
The Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and Prevention of Corruption Act 1906
Prevention of Corruption Act 1906
The Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
.
The Serious Fraud Office
Serious Fraud Office (UK)
The Serious Fraud Office is an independent UK Government department that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption...
conducted an investigation into the Al Yamamah contract on the back of this strengthened legislation from late 2003 until 14 December 2006 when it was suddenly discontinued.
Part 13 (Miscellaneous)
Gave the Secretary of State the power to implement the Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal MattersPolice and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters
The third of the three pillars of the European Union was Justice and Home Affairs , which was shrunk and renamed Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters in 2003. The pillar existed between 1993 and 2009, when it was absorbed into a consolidated EU structure.The pillar focused on...
section of the Maastrict Treaty.
Part 14 (Supplemental)
Outlined the timetable for the review of the act, by the Independent reviewer of Terrorism legislation.See also
- Human Rights in the United KingdomHuman rights in the United KingdomHuman rights in the United Kingdom are set out in common law, with its strongest roots being in the English Bill of Rights 1689, as well as the European legislation. At the same time, the UK has also had a history of both de jure and de facto discrimination, and, in recent history, occasional...
- Terrorism Acts in the United Kingdom
- Anti-Terrorism Legislation
External links
- Official text of the Act, as passed from HMSO
- Explanatory Note to the Bill as introduced in the House of Commons
- Table containing House of Commons votes from the Public WhipPublic WhipThe Public Whip is a parliamentary informatics project that analyses and publishes the voting history of MPs in the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
- Belmarsh — Britain's Guantanamo Bay?, BBC News OnlineBBC News OnlineBBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
, 6 October 2004 - Terror lawyers criticise system, BBC News OnlineBBC News OnlineBBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
, 13 December 2004 - Terror detainees win Lords appeal, BBC News OnlineBBC News OnlineBBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
, 16 December 2004 - House of Lords Judgments: A (FC) and others (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent)