NCJ Number
214560
Journal
Judicial Officers' Bulletin Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 1-4
Date Published
April 2006
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article outlines key concepts of Federal terrorism-related legislation in Australia and compares them with provisions of New South Wales (an Australian State) terrorism-related legislation, with attention to new judicial powers provided under the two sets of laws.
Abstract
The key legislative concepts compared in the two sets of legislation are "terrorist act" and "terrorist organization." Various distinctive legal options and parameters are specified in the laws when the criteria for a "terrorist act" or a "terrorist organization" are met. This article focuses on the new judicial powers authorized under the Commonwealth and New South Wales terrorism laws. Under Federal law, judges of specified courts can issue control orders, which impose obligations on a person for the purpose of protecting the public from a terrorist act. Federal law also allows judges to authorize "questioning-only" warrants, which permits the questioning of a person in order to collect intelligence related to a terrorism offense, and "detention and questioning" warrants, which are allowed when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the subject of the order may not appear for questioning, may destroy evidence, or will tell a person involved in a terrorism offense that the offense is being investigated. Under Federal law, preventative detention orders can also be issued by judges. This enables the detention of a person in order to prevent an imminent terrorist act or to preserve evidence of a terrorist act that has occurred. The New South Wales preventative detention provisions were enacted to complement the Commonwealth preventative detention regime. The New South Wales legislation allows judicial authorization of a covert search warrant, which permits the warrant to be executed without notice being given to the individual affected. 37 notes