Replace control orders with surveillance and trial, Law Society urges government

6 January 2011

The UK's control order system has challenged this country's unrivalled reputation for upholding justice and the rule of law and any alternative measures must avoid the draconian restrictions on liberty that the existing regime imposes without criminal trial, says the Law Society.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson commented that proposals to replace control orders with a different scheme would not address the elements that, in the words of the now Deputy Prime Minister, infringe "the most fundamental principles of due process and human rights," unless they avoided secret evidence and imposition by the executive.

Desmond Hudson added: "The control order regime imposes an indefinite and significant punishment of house arrest on people, with severe restrictions on their ability to communicate, on the basis of unproven allegations and suspicion, that the suspect is often not aware of and therefore unable to answer.

"The usual principles of criminal law and the normal criminal process should be utilised, so that where suspicion of involvement in a criminal offence exists the person should be subject to a criminal trial in the usual way.

"Criminal prosecutions of suspected terrorists should be undertaken where sufficient evidence exists. Where it does not and suspicion remains, targeted lawful surveillance of those against whom there is suspicion but insufficient evidence to prosecute would be a more proportionate and effective solution.

"The argument that surveillance is not a practical option is simply implausible when you consider that only nine people are presently subject to control orders of which four are subject to the full range of restrictive measures available.

"We know that there are difficult cases where the authorities either have insufficient admissible evidence with which to prosecute, or are unwilling to prosecute because the evidence they do possess should not be disclosed in order to protect the source of the information.

"To overcome the difficulties of prosecution, we urge the government to take all practical steps to admit communications intercept evidence in criminal trials, and introduce a practical system whereby such evidence may be admitted in court. We note that all other comparable jurisdictions have no such ban."

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