The Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation is an independent person, appointed by the Home Secretary and by the Treasury for a renewable three-year term and tasked with reporting to Parliament on the operation of counter-terrorism law in the UK. The current Reviewer is David Anderson QC, a lawyer in private practice with no political affiliation, whose second three-year term will expire on 21 February 2017. Future appointments to the part-time role will be made under the public appointments procedure.
Contents
Functions
The Independent Reviewer must report annually to Parliament on the operation of the Terrorism Act 2000. He or she may also report (after notifying the government) on parts of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, Part I of the Terrorism Act 2006, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010, the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs) Act 2011 and Part 1 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.
Further reports may be produced, at the request of the government or on the Independent Reviewer's own initiative. Past examples are the reports into the definition of terrorism (2007), Operation Pathway (2009) and Operation Gird (2011). "A Question of Trust", a major report on the future of investigatory powers, was commissioned by Parliament in July 2014 and published in June 2015. All reports since 2001 are available on the Independent Reviewer's website.
The current Independent Reviewer has written that "anyone who assumes that the Reviewer's function is to torment the government, or conversely to defend it, will be disappointed''", adding that he has sought, like his predecessors, "only to give an informed, considered and independent view".
The Independent Reviewer has no permanent staff but has the assistance of a Special Adviser, currently Emeritus Professor Clive Walker of the University of Leeds, and administrative help provided or paid for by the Home Office. The power to set up a Privacy and Civil Liberties Board under the direction and control of the Independent Reviewer was passed into law under the Coalition Government but has not been activated.
History
When IRA terrorism spread to England in the mid-1970s, it was closely followed by UK-wide anti-terrorism laws and by a demand from Parliament that those laws be independently reviewed by a trusted and security-cleared person. Reviews of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts and the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Acts were carried out at various times between 1978 and 1984 by Lord Shackleton, Earl Jellicoe and Sir George Baker.
In 1984 an annual review was instituted, in order better to inform the annual renewal debates that were then required. As explained to the House of Lords by Home Office Minister Lord Elton, the reviewer's function was to look at the use made of the statutory powers relating to terrorism and to consider, for example, whether any change in the pattern of their use needed to be drawn to the attention of Parliament. The reviewer was to have access to all relevant papers, including sensitive security information and ministerial correspondence. He or she would not be a judge, but "a person whose reputation would lend authority to his conclusions, because some of the information which led him to his conclusions would not be published".
Between 1984 and 2001, annual reports were produced by Sir Cyril Phillips, Viscount Colville and J.J. Rowe QC. On 11 September 2001, a few hours before the attacks on the World Trade Center, Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE QC was appointed as the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. The role was first put on a statutory basis in relation to control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. Lord Carlile held the position for more than nine years, until he was replaced by David Anderson QC on 21 February 2011.
Influence
The distinctiveness of the Independent Reviewer's role has been said to lie in a combination of two factors: complete independence from Government, coupled with unrestricted access to classified material. These factors in themselves are no guarantee of influence. Past recommendations of the Independent Reviewer have however often been accepted by Government, as may be seen from the academic literature and from the responses to the Independent Reviewer's reports that are published on the Reviewer's website. Other recommendations have been taken up by the courts or by parliamentary committees.
The current Independent Reviewer was credited by both Government and opposition front benches with significantly influencing their positions on the legislation that became the Justice and Security Act 2013. His reports and evidence to Parliament have also influenced the law governing TPIMs, which was reformulated following his confidential report of September 2014 to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, the scope of the power to stop and detain travellers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 and the practice of asset-freezing. "A Question of Trust", his June 2015 report on the future of surveillance laws, had a major influence on the Government's draft Investigatory Powers Bill of November 2015, and has been described as "the turning point that policymakers have looked for and missed ever since 9/11". David Anderson QC has criticized the UK's broad definition of terrorism, and warned in September 2015 of potential dangers in the Government's proposed Counter-Extremism Bill. He published some broader reflections on terrorism and the law in 2013.