Control order legislation has led to human rights violation, say Ali Naseem Bajwa and Owen Davies QC
Following the House of Lords’ ruling in 2004 that the indefinite detention of foreign nationals believed to be involved in terrorism was a breach of their human rights (see A v Secretary of State for the Home Department; X v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, [2005] 3 All ER 169), the government response was to repeal the offending legislation and rush through an Act which introduced control orders; the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (PTA 2005). However, PTA 2005 has been no less controversial than its predecessor and it has taken a considerable effort by the appellate courts to bring control orders and control order proceedings into line with our human rights obligations. Moreover, there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to where control orders will go from here.
WHAT IS A CONTROL ORDER?
A control order imposes obligations against an individual for purposes connected with protecting members of the public from a
