UK: Terrorism Act 2000 (feature)
01 September 2000
After years of parliamentary opposition to the renewal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, Labour in government has produced a new anti-terrorist law which is not only permanent but also broader in its scope and application than previous "emergency" and "temporary" legislation. The Terrorism Act 2000 received royal assent on 20 July and provisions relating to Northern Ireland came into immediate effect. The remainder of the Act will be implemented in early 2001.
The process began six years ago when the then Conservative government set up an "Inquiry into Legislation Against Terrorism", chaired by Lord Lloyd of Berwick. The Inquiry was asked to consider the need for counter-terrorist powers in the wake of the emerging Irish peace process and the likely decline in activity by the armed groups. It produced a two volume report in 1996 (Command Paper Cm 3420) (see Statewatch vol 7 no 1) which concluded that the UK required permanent anti-terrorist legislation to deal with internal and international threats, irrespective of the Irish situation. The Lloyd Report came up with a new legal definition of "terrorism" and considered a range of new and existing powers to form the basis of any future legislation. Each of these was looked at with respect to existing European Convention on Human Rights' jurisprudence, such as the Brogan ruling against seven-day detention. It is because the government wished to retain the power to detain and question people for up to seven days without charge that it entered a derogation from the Convention on grounds that the "life of the nation" was under threat. This notion, that the situation in Northern Ireland constituted such a threat, was last tested in the European Court of Human Rights in 1993 - the derogation was upheld. The Human Rights Act continues the derogation.
The next step was the publication of a joint Northern Ireland Office/Home Office document - Legislation Against Terrorism. A Consultation Paper (Cm 4178) - in December 1998. The government's intention was to modernise counter-terrorist powers, to make them permanent and to "maximise the appropriateness and effectiveness of the UK's response to all forms of terrorism" including "new forms of terrorism which may develop in the future". In other words, the new provisions were to cover "international", "domestic" and "Irish" terrorism. The latter, however, would remain subject to a range of additional temporary powers incorporated into the new law.
The consultation period, as well as subsequent parliamentary debates on the Terrorism Bill, generated much discussion around the proposed legislation's compatibility with the Human Rights Act 1998 (incorporating the European Convention into UK law). Some of the argument went further, challenging both the need and desirability of legislation which would expand the type of actions and threats defined as "terrorism", thereby widening the criminalisation of expressions of support for international and internal groups. Notwithstanding government assurances that no domestic groups are likely to be proscribed under present circumstances (aside from those relating to "Irish terrorism") there is, nevertheless, widespread concern among campaigning groups that any extra-parliamentary activity may come within the scope of new legislation. It is likely, however, that the government would wish to proscribe organisations in other countries, and this is sure to have an impact on freedom of expression and open political debate, not to mention solidarity work.
Interpretation of definition crucial
Much of the legal argument surrounding the passage of the Terrorism Act focused on the definition of "terrorism". Section 1 of the Act elaborates the meaning of "terrorism" over five subsections. "Terrorism" can mean the threat of, as well as the use of, an action. Section 1(4) makes it clear that this "action" can occur anywhere within or outside the UK. Similarly, the persons, prope