Antiterrorism Crime And Security Act 2001 (ATCSA)

Following the events of September 11, 2001 UK government brought a new legislation into force known as the antiterrorism crime and Security act 2001 (aTCSa) the act conferred greater powers on law enforcement authorities to counter terrorism. However, severely limits civil liberties and human rights and has been subject to a great deal of controversy.

Article 5(1)(f) protects a person’s right to liberty and the security of the person. The UK Government can derogate from Art.5 by declaring a state of emergency which is required under Article 15. Derrogations under Article 15 of the ECHR require that there is a public emergency threatening the life of the nation; that the measures are strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and that

The main provisions of the Act were to enable the Home Secretary to indefinitely detain, without trial - those suspected of terrorism. It also limited the appeals of foreign nationals that are detained under suspected terrorist offences to a closed special immigration commission. The court of appeal can only take decisions on a point of law.

Indefinite detention of ‘suspected international terrorists’ - According to S21 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) the Secretary of State may issue a certificate in respect of a person if he reasonably believes that the person’s presence in the United Kingdom is a risk to national security and the person is a terrorist.

Another controversial part of the act is that under S23(1) ATCSA 2001 it states a ‘suspected international terrorist ' upon certification may be detained indefinitely if either a ‘point of law’ or a ‘practical consideration’ prevents his removal from the United Kingdom. This provision applies to persons subject to immigration control under the Immigrations Act 1971 which means that this does not apply to British

The CPT stated - "The UK authorities consider that the detainees in question would be at risk of serious human rights violations, including death or torture, in case of return to their countries of origin; indeed, this is the declared reason why they cannot be removed from the United Kingdom”.

A v Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department : Anti-Terrorism

In 2004 a specially-convened committee made up of nine Law Lords concluded that holding foreign nationals suspected of terrorism without trial breached the ECHR. During this committee there were nine prisoners being detained under ATCSA in Belmarsh Prison for almost three years. The legal decision was based on the fact that the Act was discriminatory as it only applied to foreign nationals

In response to government arguments that the anti-terrorism act was necessary to protect the life of the nation, Lord Hoffmann said: "The real threat to the life of the nation ... comes not from terrorism but from laws such as