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UK Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill would give the executive unprecedented powers to bring in EU measures on policing and sentencing without any parliamentary debate or amendments

01 November 2001

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The UK Anti-Terrrorism, Crime and Security Bill in Article 109, "Implementation of third pillar measures" would give the government the power to introduce EU measures on policing and sentencing. A special analysis by Statewatch shows that the powers being planned even go beyond those available under the "European Communities Act", that they may be ultra vires and the major impact will have nothing to do with terrorism.

The new powers would be of great constitutional importance, extending well beyond anti-terrorism measures to cover every aspect of crime and policing law and many crimes within the scope of such rules. Moreover, the delegated powers in this area would go well beyond the powers conferred by the European Communities act as regards criminal sentencing and would in effect allow the executive to set criminal sentences without involvement of the UK parliament in many areas.

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"This proposed power along with unlimited detention without charge of "suspected terrorists" and the introduction of the surveillance of telecommunications (phone-calls, e-mails, faxes and internet usage) of the "entire population" constitute fundamental derogations by the government from the basic standards of any society which wants to call itself a democracy"

1. Special Statewatch report:
Article 109 of the UK Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill (html)
Article 109 of the UK Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill (pdf)

2. Surveillance provisions critique: Report
3. Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA) critique of immigration and aslym provisions

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