Dated March 2008. Response to 9th report, HL 50/HC 199, session 2007-08 (ISBN 9780104012260)

Examines the Counter-Terrorism Bill before its second reading in the House of Commons. This title concentrates on five significant human rights issues needing thorough parliamentary scrutiny: pre-charge detention; post-charge questioning; control orders and special advocates; the threshold test for charging; and the admissibility of intercept.

On 30th January 2008 the Home Secretary laid before both Houses of Parliament a draft Order to renew the control order legislation, the third annual extension of the control order regime. The Government takes the view that no amendments to the legal framework are necessary. The Committee disagrees and considers it imperative for the Government to amend counter-terrorism laws where experience has shown them to lead to breaches of human rights. Amongst their recommendations are: ensurance of timely availability of Lord Carlile's annual report on the control orders; the need to strengthen the intrusive powers contained in the control orders; modification of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to impose a maximum daily limit 12 hours on the curfew which can be imposed; review of the fairness of the special advocate procedure and a need to take into account the Committee's own earlier recommendations concerning this; maintaining the preferred policy of priority of prosecution; and greater transparency of decisions that prosecution is not possible.

The control orders regime, established under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, gives the Home Secretary the power to place restrictions on the liberty of individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism-related activity, depending on the assessed risk posed by the individual concerned, including requirements as to place of abode, and restrictions on movement, association or communication. This publication sets out the Government's reply to the Committee's report (HLP 60/HCP 365, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780104010310) which examined the Government's intention to extend the control order regime for a second time, for a further year to March 2008, under the draft Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2007 (Draft 2007 S.I., ISBN 9780110757278).

This book examines the effects of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington of 11 September 2001 on America's human rights and counter-terrorism policies towards a number of countries in Asia. Five countries have been chosen for examination, divided into two front-lines states (Pakistan and Uzbekistan), two second-front countries (Indonesia and Malaysia), and a third-front country, China. The paper also looks at changes in US domestic legislation and its treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere in order to analyse the extent to which the US promotion of an external human rights policy might also have been compromised by its own legislative changes as a result of the struggle against terrorism. The paper concludes that the attacks on US territory, overall, have constrained America's willingness and capacity to promote an external human rights policy with respect to these five countries. However, some attention - especially at the rhetorical level - to these countries' human rights records has been retained to differing degrees among the five states. This degree of difference is not explained entirely in reference to a country's perceived centrality to the struggle against terrorism. It depends on the extent to which the US executive and legislative branches are united - either singly or in combination - in their disapproval of a state's record, or in their understanding about how best to reach the policy goals that are sought.

The 20th report published as HL 108/HC 554, session 2007-08 (ISBN 9780104012741) and the 21st report published as HL 116/HC 635, session 2007-08 (ISBN 9780104013038)