Summary
The Joint Committee's report considers the human rights implications of Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, which required a UK derogation from the right to personal liberty under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) regarding exceptional powers to allow the indefinite detention without charge of suspected international terrorists who are not UK nationals and cannot be removed from the country. Conclusions drawn include: i) there are serious weaknesses in human rights protection under the detention provisions of Part 4 of the Act and a more satisfactory legal framework is urgently required which fully complies with the ECHR; ii) there is a significant risk that the powers under Part 4 violate the right to be free of discrimination under ECHR Article 14 because they have a particular impact on only one part of the resident community of the UK on grounds of nationality; and iii) the Committee continues to doubt whether the derogation is justified on grounds of national emergency, and is not persuaded that it is appropriate to renew Part 4 when there is no time limit specified.