Preventive Detention and Post-September 11th Legislation
| Author | Shane Darcy |
| Position | BA (Law and Accounting), University of Limerick; LL.M candidate (International Human Rights) |
| Pages | 158-171 |
PREVENTIVE DETENTION
AND
POST-SEPTEMBER
11h LEGISLATION
SHANE
DARCY*
On
September
11
th
2001
a
series
of
horrific
and
devastating terrorist
attacks
were
carried
out
against
the
United
States
of
America,
the
reverberations
of
which
are
still being felt
throughout
the
world.
The
terrorist
attacks
were
viewed
as
an act
of
war
and
states
in
their response
vowed
to
engage
in
a
new
war; a
'war against
terrorism'.
This
war
against
terrorism
has
taken primarily
two forms;
that
of
military
action against
those
states
that
harbour
terrorists
and
that
of
domestic
action
aimed
at
combating
terrorism
from
within
state
borders. In
order
to
execute
the
latter,
states
have
introduced
a
number
of
anti-terrorism
laws in a
direct
response
to
the
terrorist
attacks
of
September
11t
h
2001.1
This
work
will
focus
on a
number
of
such
laws
with
particular
emphasis
on
those
provisions
granting
states
the powers to
implement policies
of
preventive
detention.
During
efforts
to
combat terrorism, particularly
where
a
state
of
emergency
has
been
promulgated,
the
basic human
right
to
liberty
and
security
of
the person
is
frequently violated. This
right
is
one
of
the
essential
guarantees
of
the entire
human rights
regime,
yet
in
times
of
tension
or
upheaval
it
is
often
disregarded
in
contradiction
of
its
enumeration
as
a
universally
accepted norm
in
most,
if
not all,
of
the
major
international treaties
and
declarations
protecting
human rights.
2
Such
disregard for
the
right to
liberty and
security
often
occurs
as
a
result
of
the
implementation
of
policies
of
preventive
detention
by
states
-
an
effort
to
remove
the
terrorist
threat
created
by
specific individuals
through
enforcing
their
confinement.
Section
I
examines
the
practice
of
preventive
detention
and,
in
particular,
its
use
as
an
anti-terrorism
measure.
Provisions
allowing
for
the
detention
of
suspected
terrorists
BA
(Law
and
Accounting),
University
of
Limerick;
LL.M
candidate
(International
Human
Rights),
N.U.I
Galway.
For
example,
The
Uniting
and
Strengthening
America
by
Providing
Appropriate
Tools
Required
to
Intercept
and
Obstruct
Terrorism (USA
PATRIOT)
Act
of
2001,
the
United
Kingdom's
Anti-Terrorism,
Crime and
Security
Act
2001,
the
Canadian Anti-Terrorism
Act
2001,
Japan's
Anti-Terrorism
Special Measures
Bill
2001
and
India's
Prevention
of
Terrorism
Ordinance
2001.
2
The
right to liberty and security
is
enshrined
in
Article
3
of
the Universal
Declaration
of
Human
Rights,
Article
9
of
The
International Covenant
on
Civil and
Political
Rights,
Article
7
of
The American
Convention
on
Human
Rights and
Article
5
of
the
0
2002 Shane
Darcy
and
Dublin
University
Law
Society
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