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Judgments - A (FC) and others (FC) (Appellants) v.
Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent)

HOUSE OF LORDS

SESSION 2004-05
[2004] UKHL 56
on
appeal from: [2002] EWCA Civ 1502

OPINIONS

OF THE LORDS OF APPEAL

FOR JUDGMENT IN THE CAUSE

A (FC) and others (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of
State for the Home Department (Respondent)

X (FC) and another (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of

ON

THURSDAY 16 DECEMBER 2004

The Appellate Committee comprised:

Lord Bingham of Cornhill

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead

Lord Hoffmann

Lord Hope of Craighead

Lord Scott of Foscote

Lord Rodger of Earlsferry

Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe

Baroness Hale of Richmond

Lord Carswell

HOUSE OF LORDS

OPINIONS OF THE LORDS OF APPEAL FOR JUDGMENT

IN THE CAUSE

A (FC) and others (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of State
for the Home Department (Respondent)

X (FC) and another (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of
State for the Home Department (Respondent)

[2004] UKHL 56

LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL

My Lords,

1.  The nine appellants before the
House challenge a decision of the Court of Appeal (Lord Woolf CJ, Brooke
and Chadwick LJJ) made on 25 October 2002 ([2002] EWCA Civ 1502, [2004] QB
335). The Court of Appeal allowed the Home Secretary's appeal against the
decision of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Collins J, Kennedy
LJ and Mr Ockelton) dated 30 July 2002 and dismissed the appellants'
cross-appeals against that decision: [2002] HRLR 1274.

2.  Eight of the appellants were
certified by the Home Secretary under section 21 of the Anti-terrorism,
Crime and Security Act 2001 on 17 or 18 December 2001 and were detained
under section 23 of that Act on 19 December 2001. The ninth was certified
on 5 February 2002 and detained on 8 February 2002. Two of the eight
December detainees exercised their right to leave the United Kingdom: one
went to Morocco on 22 December 2001, the other (a French as well as an
Algerian citizen) went to France on 13 March 2002. One of the December
detainees was transferred to Broadmoor Hospital on grounds of mental
illness in July 2002. Another was released on bail, on strict conditions,
in April 2004. The Home Secretary revoked his certification of another in
September 2004, and he has been released without conditions.

3.  The appellants share certain
common characteristics which are central to their appeals. All are foreign
(non-UK) nationals. None has been the subject of any criminal charge. In
none of their cases is a criminal trial in prospect. All challenge the
lawfulness of their detention. More specifically, they all contend that
such detention was inconsistent with obligations binding on the United
Kingdom under the European Convention on Human Rights, given domestic
effect by the Human Rights Act 1998; that the United Kingdom was not
legally entitled to derogate from those obligations; that, if it was, its
derogation was nonetheless inconsistent with the European Convention and
so ineffectual to justify the detention; and that the statutory provisions
under which they have been detained are incompatible with the Convention.
The duty of the House, and the only duty of the House in its judicial
capacity, is to decide whether the appellants' legal challenge is soundly
based.

4.  In argument before the House,
Liberty made written and oral submissions in support of the appellants, as
it did in the courts below. Amnesty International made written
submissions, also in support of the appellants. Special advocates were
instructed by the Treasury Solicitor, but were not in the event called
upon.

The background

5.  In July 2000 Parliament enacted
the Terrorism Act 2000. This was a substantial measure, with 131 sections
and 16 Schedules, intended to overhaul, modernise and strengthen the law
relating to the growing problem of terrorism. Relevantly for present
purposes, that Act defined "terrorism" in section 1, which reads:

"1  Terrorism: interpretation

(1) In this Act 'terrorism' means the use or threat of action where
-

(a) the action falls within subsection (2),

(b) the use or threat is designed to influence the government or
to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and

(c) the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a
political, religious or ideological cause.

(2) Action falls within this subsection if it -

(a) involves serious violence against a person,

(b) involves serious damage to property,

(c) endangers a person's life, other than that of the person
committing the action,

(d) creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public
or a section of the public, or

(e) is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to
disrupt an electronic system.

(3) The use or threat of action falling within subsection (2)
which involves the use of firearms or explosives is terrorism whether
or not subsection (1)(b) is satisfied.

(4) In this section -

(a) 'action' includes action outside the United Kingdom,

(b) a reference to any person or to property is a reference to any
person, or to property, wherever situated,

(c) a reference to the public includes a reference to the public
of a country other than the United Kingdom, and

(d) 'the government' means the government of the United Kingdom,
of a Part of the United Kingdom or of a country other than the United
Kingdom.

(5) In this Act a reference to action taken for the purposes of
terrorism includes a reference to action taken for the benefit of a
proscribed organisation."

6.  On 11 September 2001 terrorists
launched concerted attacks in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.
The main facts surrounding those attacks are too well known to call for
recapitulation here. It is enough to record that they were atrocities on
an unprecedented scale, causing many deaths and destroying property of
immense value. They were intended to disable the governmental and
commercial power of the United States. The attacks were the product of
detailed planning. They were committed by terrorists fired by ideological
hatred of the United States and willing to sacrifice their own lives in
order to injure the leading nation of the western world. The mounting of
such attacks against such targets in such a country inevitably caused
acute concerns about their own security in other western countries,
particularly those which, like the United Kingdom, were particularly
prominent in their support for the United States and its military response
to Al-Qaeda, the organisation quickly identified as responsible for the
attacks. Before and after 11 September Usama bin Laden, the moving spirit
of Al-Qaeda, made threats specifically directed against the United Kingdom
and its people.

7.  Her Majesty's Government reacted
to the events of 11 September in two ways directly relevant to these
appeals. First, it introduced (and Parliament, subject to amendment, very
swiftly enacted) what became Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and
Security Act 2001. Secondly, it made the Human Rights Act 1998 (Designated
Derogation) Order 2001 (SI 2001/3644) ("the Derogation Order"). Before
summarising the effect of these measures it is important to understand
their underlying legal rationale.

8.  First, it was provided by para
2(2) of Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971 that the Secretary of State
might detain a non-British national pending the making of a deportation
order against him. Para 2(3) of the same schedule authorised the Secretary
of State to detain a person against whom a deportation order had been made
"pending his removal or departure from the United Kingdom". In R v
Governor of Durham Prison, Ex p Hardial Singh [1984] 1 WLR 704 it was
held, in a decision which has never been questioned (and which was
followed by the Privy Council in Tan Te Lam v Superintendent of Tai A
Chau Detention Centre [1997] AC 97), that such detention was
permissible only for such time as was reasonably necessary for the process
of deportation to be carried out. Thus there was no warrant for the
long-term or indefinite detention of a non-UK national whom the Home
Secretary wished to remove. This ruling was wholly consistent with the
obligations undertaken by the United Kingdom in the European Convention on
Human Rights, the core articles of which were given domestic effect by the
Human Rights Act 1998. Among these articles is article 5(1) which
guarantees the fundamental human right of personal freedom: "Everyone has
the right to liberty and security of person". This must be read in the
context of article 1, by which contracting states undertake to secure the
Convention rights and freedoms to "everyone within their jurisdiction".
But the right of personal freedom, fundamental though it is, cannot be
absolute and article 5(1) of the Convention goes on to prescribe certain
exceptions. One exception is crucial to these appeals:

"(1)  Everyone has the right to liberty and security of
person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following
cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:

(f) the lawful arrest or detention of ….. a person against whom
action is being taken with a view to deportation ….."

Thus there is, again, no warrant for the long-term or indefinite
detention of a non-UK national whom the Home Secretary wishes to remove.
Such a person may be detained only during the process of deportation.
Otherwise, the Convention is breached and the Convention rights of the
detainee are violated.

9.  Secondly, reference must be made
to the important decision of the European Court of Human Rights in
Chahal v United Kingdom (1996) 23 EHRR 413. Mr Chahal was an Indian
citizen who had been granted indefinite leave to remain in this country
but whose activities as a Sikh separatist brought him to the notice of the
authorities both in India and here. The Home Secretary of the day decided
that he should be deported from this country because his continued
presence here was not conducive to the public good for reasons of a
political nature, namely the international fight against terrorism. He
resisted deportation on the ground (among others) that, if returned to
India, he faced a real risk of death, or of torture in custody contrary to
article 3 of the European Convention which provides that "No one shall be
subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
Before the European Court the United Kingdom contended that the effect of
article 3 should be qualified in a case where a state sought to deport a
non-national on grounds of national security. This was an argument which
the Court, affirming a unanimous decision of the Commission, rejected. It
said, in paras 79-80 of its judgment:

"79.  Article 3 enshrines one of the most fundamental
values of democratic society. The Court is well aware of the immense
difficulties faced by States in modern times in protecting their
communities from terrorist violence. However, even in these
circumstances, the Convention prohibits in absolute terms torture or
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, irrespective of the
victim's conduct. Unlike most of the substantive clauses of the
convention and of Protocols Nos. 1 and 4, Article 3 makes no provision
for exceptions and no derogation from it is permissible under Article 15
even in the event of a public emergency threatening the life of the
nation.

80.  The prohibition provided by Article 3 against
ill-treatment is equally absolute in expulsion cases. Thus, whenever
substantial grounds have been shown for believing that an individual
would face a real risk of being subjected to treatment contrary to
Article 3 if removed to another State, the responsibility of the
Contracting State to safeguard him or her against such treatment is
engaged in the event of expulsion. In these circumstances, the
activities of the individual in question, however undesirable or
dangerous, cannot be a material consideration. The protection afforded
by Article 3 is thus wider than that provided by Articles 32 and 33 of
the United Nations 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees."

The Court went on to consider whether Mr Chahal's detention, which had
lasted for a number of years, had exceeded the period permissible under
article 5(1)(f). On this question the Court, differing from the unanimous
decision of the Commission, held that it had not. But it reasserted (para
113) that "any deprivation of liberty under Article 5(1)(f) will be
justified only for as long as deportation proceedings are in progress". In
a case like Mr Chahal's, where deportation proceedings are precluded by
article 3, article 5(1)(f) would not sanction detention because the
non-national would not be "a person against whom action is being taken
with a view to deportation". A person who commits a serious crime under
the criminal law of this country may of course, whether a national or a
non-national, be charged, tried and, if convicted, imprisoned. But a
non-national who faces the prospect of torture or inhuman treatment if
returned to his own country, and who cannot be deported to any third
country and is not charged with any crime, may not under article 5(1)(f)
of the Convention and Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971 be detained
here even if judged to be a threat to national security.

10.  The European Convention gives
member states a limited right to derogate from some articles of the
Convention (including article 5, although not article 3). The governing
provision is article 15, which so far as relevant provides:

"Derogation in time of emergency

1.  In time of war or other public emergency threatening
the life of the nation any High Contracting Party may take measures
derogating from its obligations under this Convention to the extent
strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such
measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under
international law."

A member state availing itself of the right of derogation must inform
the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of the measures it has
taken and the reasons for them. It must also tell the Secretary General
when the measures have ceased to operate and the provisions of the
Convention are again being fully executed. Article 15 of the Convention is
not one of the articles expressly incorporated by the 1998 Act, but
section 14 of that Act makes provision for prospective derogations by the
United Kingdom to be designated for the purposes of the Act in an order
made by the Secretary of State. It was in exercise of his power under that
section that the Home Secretary, on 11 November 2001, made the Derogation
Order, which came into force two days later, although relating to what was
at that stage a proposed derogation.

The Derogation Order

11.  The derogation related to
article 5(1), in reality article 5(1)(f), of the Convention. The proposed
notification by the United Kingdom was set out in a schedule to the Order.
The first section of this, entitled "Public emergency in the United
Kingdom", referred to the attacks of 11 September and to United Nations
Security Council resolutions recognising those attacks as a threat to
international peace and security and requiring all states to take measures
to prevent the commission of terrorist attacks, "including by denying safe
haven to those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist attacks". It
was stated in the Schedule:

"There exists a terrorist threat to the United Kingdom from persons
suspected of involvement in international terrorism. In particular,
there are foreign nationals present in the United Kingdom who are
suspected of being concerned in the commission, preparation or
instigation of acts of international terrorism, of being members of
organisations or groups which are so concerned or of having links with
members of such organisations or groups, and who are a threat to the
national security of the United Kingdom."

The next section summarised the effect of what was to become the 2001
Act. A brief account was then given of the power to detain under the
Immigration Act 1971 and reference was made to the decision in Hardial
Singh. In a section entitled "Article 5(1)(f) of the Convention" the
effect of the Court's decision in Chahal was summarised. In the
next section it was recognised that the extended power in the new
legislation to detain a person against whom no action was being taken with
a view to deportation might be inconsistent with article 5(1)(f). Hence
the need for derogation. Formal notice of derogation was given to the
Secretary General on 18 December 2001. Corresponding steps were taken to
derogate from article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights 1966, which is similar in effect to article 5, although
not (like article 5) incorporated into domestic law.

The 2001 Act

12.  The 2001 Act is a long and
comprehensive statute. Only Part 4 ("Immigration and Asylum") has featured
in argument in these appeals, because only Part 4 contains the power to
detain indefinitely on reasonable suspicion without charge or trial of
which the appellants complain, and only Part 4 is the subject of the
United Kingdom derogation. Section 21 provides for certification of a
person by the Secretary of State:

"21  Suspected international terrorist: certification

(1) The Secretary of State may issue a certificate under this
section in respect of a person if the Secretary of State reasonably -

(a) believes that the person's presence in the United Kingdom is a
risk to national security, and

(b) suspects that the person is a terrorist.

(2) In subsection (1)(b) 'terrorist' means a person who -

(a) is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation or
instigation of acts of international terrorism,

(b) is a member of or belongs to an international terrorist group,
or

(c) has links with an international terrorist group.

(3) A group is an international terrorist group for the purposes
of subjection (2)(b) and (c) if -

(a) it is subject to the control or influence of persons outside
the United Kingdom, and

(b) the Secretary of State suspects that it is concerned in the
commission, preparation or instigation of acts of international
terrorism.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(c) a person has links with
an international terrorist group only if he supports or assists it.

(5) In this Part -

'terrorism' has the meaning given by section 1 of the Terrorism Act
2000 [see para 5 above], and

'suspected international terrorist' means a person certified under
subsection (1).

13.  Section 22(1) of the Act
provides:

"22  Deportation, removal &c

(1) An action of a kind specified in subsection (2) may be taken in
respect of a suspected international terrorist despite the fact that
(whether temporarily or indefinitely) the action cannot result in his
removal from the United Kingdom because of -

(a) a point of law which wholly or partly relates to an
international agreement, or

(b) a practical consideration."

The actions specified in subsection (2) include the making of a
deportation order. It is clear that subsection (1)(a) is directed to
articles 3 and 5(1)(f) of the Convention and the decision in Chahal.
Subsection (1)(b) is directed primarily to the case where a
non-national cannot for Convention reasons be returned to his home country
and there is no other country to which he may be removed.

14.  Section 23(1) is the provision
most directly challenged in these appeals. It provides:

"23  Detention

(1) A suspected international terrorist may be detained under a
provision specified in subsection (2) despite the fact that his removal
or departure from the United Kingdom is prevented (whether temporarily
or indefinitely) by -

(a) a point of law which wholly or partly relates to an
international agreement, or

(b) a practical consideration."

For present purposes the relevant provision specified in subsection (2)
is para 2 of Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971, the effect of which I
have outlined in para 8 above.

15.  The Act makes provision in
section 24 for the grant of bail by the Special Immigration Appeals
Commission ("SIAC"), in section 25 for appeal to SIAC against
certification by a certified suspected international terrorist, in section
26 for periodic reviews of certification by SIAC, in section 28 for
periodic reviews of the operation of sections 21 to 23, in section 29 for
the expiry (subject to periodic renewal) of sections 21 to 23 and for the
final expiry of those sections, unless renewed, on 10 November 2006. By
section 21(8), legal challenges to certification are reserved to SIAC.
Section 30 gives SIAC exclusive jurisdiction in derogation matters, which
are defined to mean:

"(1)(a)  a derogation by the United Kingdom from Article
5(1) of the Convention on Human Rights which relates to the detention of
a person where there is an intention to remove or deport him from the
United Kingdom, or

(b)  the designation under section 14(1) of the Human
Rights Act 1998 (c 42) of a derogation within paragraph (a) above."

The appellants' challenge in these proceedings was brought under this
section. Section 122, in Part 14 of the Act, provided for appointment by
the Secretary of State of a committee of not fewer than seven Privy
Counsellors to review the whole of the Act within two years. Part 4 of the
Act came into force on 14 December 2001, the date on which the Act
received the royal assent.

Public emergency

16.  The appellants repeated before
the House a contention rejected by both SIAC and the Court of Appeal, that
there neither was nor is a "public emergency threatening the life of the
nation" within the meaning of article 15(1). Thus, they contended, the
threshold test for reliance on article 15 has not been satisfied.

17.  The European Court considered
the meaning of this provision in Lawless v Ireland (No 3) (1961) 1
EHRR 15, a case concerned with very low-level IRA terrorist activity in
Ireland and Northern Ireland between 1954 and 1957. The Irish Government
derogated from article 5 in July 1957 in order to permit detention without
charge or trial and the applicant was detained between July and December
1957. He could have obtained his release by undertaking to observe the law
and refrain from activities contrary to the Offences against the State
(Amendment) Act 1940, but instead challenged the lawfulness of the Irish
derogation. He failed. In para 22 of its judgment the Court held that it
was for it to determine whether the conditions laid down in article 15 for
the exercise of the exceptional right of derogation had been made out. In
paras 28-29 it ruled:

"28.  In the general context of Article 15 of the
Convention, the natural and customary meaning of the words 'other public
emergency threatening the life of the nation' is sufficiently clear;
they refer to an exceptional situation of crisis or emergency which
affects the whole population and constitutes a threat to the organised
life of the community of which the State is composed. Having thus
established the natural and customary meaning of this conception, the
Court must determine whether the facts and circumstances which led the
Irish Government to make their Proclamation of 5 July 1957 come within
this conception. The Court, after an examination, finds this to be the
case; the existence at the time of a 'public emergency threatening the
life of the nation' was reasonably deduced by the Irish Government from
a combination of several factors, namely: in the first place, the
existence in the territory of the Republic of Ireland of a secret army
engaged in unconstitutional activities and using violence to attain its
purposes; secondly, the fact that this army was also operating outside
the territory of the State, thus seriously jeopardising the relations of
the Republic of Ireland with its neighbour; thirdly, the steady and
alarming increase in terrorist activities from the autumn of 1956 and
throughout the first half of 1957.

29.  Despite the gravity of the situation, the Government
had succeeded, by using means available under ordinary legislation, in
keeping public institutions functioning more or less normally, but the
homicidal ambush on the night of 3 to 4 July 1957 in the territory of
Northern Ireland near the border had brought to light, just before 12
July - a date, which, for historical reasons, is particularly critical
for the preservation of public peace and order - the imminent danger to
the nation caused by the continuance of unlawful activities in Northern
Ireland by the IRA and various associated groups, operating from the
territory of the Republic of Ireland."

18.  In the Greek Case (1969)
12 YB 1 the Government of Greece failed to persuade the Commission that
there had been a public emergency threatening the life of the nation such
as would justify derogation. In para 153 of its opinion the Commission
described the features of such an emergency:

"153.  Such a public emergency may then be seen to have,
in particular, the following characteristics:

(1) It must be actual or imminent.

(2) Its effects must involve the whole nation.

(3) The continuance of the organised life of the community must be
threatened.

(4) The crisis or danger must be exceptional, in that the normal
measures or restrictions, permitted by the Convention for the
maintenance of public safety, health and order, are plainly inadequate."

In Ireland v United Kingdom (1978) 2 EHRR 25 the parties were
agreed, as were the Commission and the Court, that the article 15 test was
satisfied. This was unsurprising, since the IRA had for a number of years
represented (para 212) "a particularly far-reaching and acute danger for
the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom, the institutions of the
six counties and the lives of the province's inhabitants". The article 15
test was accordingly not discussed, but the Court made valuable
observations about its role where the application of the article is
challenged:

"(a)  The role of the Court

207.  The limits on the Court's powers of review are
particularly apparent where Article 15 is concerned.

It falls in the first place to each Contracting State, with its
responsibility for 'the life of [its] nation', to determine whether that
life is threatened by a 'public emergency' and, if so, how far it is
necessary to go in attempting to overcome the emergency. By reason of
their direct and continuous contact with the pressing needs of the
moment, the national authorities are in principle in a better position
than the international judge to decide both on the presence of such an
emergency and on the nature and scope of derogations necessary to avert
it. In this matter, Article 15(1) leaves those authorities a wide margin
of appreciation.

Nevertheless, the States do not enjoy an unlimited power in this
respect. The Court, which, with the Commission, is responsible for
ensuring the observance of the States' engagements (Art. 19), is
empowered to rule on whether the States have gone beyond the 'extent
strictly required by the exigencies' of the crisis. The domestic margin
of appreciation is thus accompanied by a European supervision."

The Court repeated this account of its role in Brannigan and McBride
v United Kingdom (1993) 17 EHRR 539, adding (para 43) that

"in exercising its supervision the Court must give appropriate
weight to such relevant factors as the nature of the rights affected by
the derogation, the circumstances leading to, and the duration of, the
emergency situation."

The Court again accepted that there had been a qualifying emergency
when the applicants, following a derogation in December 1988, were
detained for periods of six days and four days respectively in January
1989. In Aksoy v Turkey (1996) 23 EHRR 553 the Court had little
difficulty in accepting, and the applicant did not contest, that a
qualifying public emergency existed. This was, again, an unsurprising
conclusion in the context of Kurdish separatist terrorism which had
claimed almost 8000 lives. The applicant in Marshall v United
Kingdom (10 July 2001, Appn No 41571/98) relied on the improved
security situation in Northern Ireland to challenge the continuing
validity of the United Kingdom's 1988 derogation. Referring to its
previous case law, the Court rejected the application as inadmissible,
while acknowledging (pp 11-12) that it must

"address with special vigilance the fact that almost nine years
separate the prolonged administrative detention of the applicants
Brannigan and McBride from that of the applicant in the case before it."

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