Summary and Background
238.Under section 36 of the Terrorism Act 2006 the Secretary of State is required to appoint a person to review the operation of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Part 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006. There are also requirements under section 20 of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 and section 31 of the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc Act 2010 to appoint persons to review the operation of these Acts. A single person is currently appointed under these provisions and is known as the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. His primary purpose is to ensure that UK counter-terrorism legislation, and the manner in which it is operated, is fair, effective and proportionate. This is an important part of CONTEST, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, and the Reviewer’s reports to Parliament inform debate and the public. During the passage of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill (which received Royal Assent on 17 July 2014), the Government committed to establish a board that would provide assurance to the public about the current counter-terrorism arrangements, including ensuring that legislation and policies have due regard for civil liberty and privacy concerns.
