Accountability and Review in the Counter-Terrorist State

Counter-terrorism is now a permanent and sprawling part of the legislative and operational apparatus of the state, yet little is known about the law and practice of how it is reviewed, how effective the review mechanisms are, what impact they have or how they interact with one another. This book addresses that gap in knowledge by presenting the first comprehensive, critical analysis of counter-terrorism review in the United Kingdom, informed by exclusive interviews with policy makers, politicians, practitioners and civil society.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Accountability in the Counter-Terrorist State The Counter-Terrorist State The Practice and Potential of Counter-Terrorism Review The Prevailing Approach to Review Problematising Counter-Terrorism Review Conclusion: Accountability and Review in the Counter-Terrorist State

About the Author :
Jessie Blackbourn is Assistant Professor in Public Law and Human Rights at Durham Law School at Durham University. Previously she was Research Fellow in the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford and Socio-Legal Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. Her research interests lie broadly in the field of anti-terrorism law with a particular focus on oversight and review. Fiona de Londras is Professor of Global Legal Studies at Birmingham Law School at the University of Birmingham. Her research concerns constitutionalism, human rights and transnationalism with a particular focus on counter-terrorism. Lydia Morgan is Lecturer in Law at Birmingham Law School at the University of Birmingham, where she was previously a Research Fellow for the research and writing of this book. Her research interests cover the interactions between state secrecy, state surveillance, accountability and critiques of liberal thought.

Review :
"This fine treatise fills a gap in national security scholarship. The authors benchmark UK experience with national security accountability review comprehensively and in a manner that allows lessons to be learned by others.” Craig Forcese, University of Ottawa ''When does review of the permanent and sprawling structures of the counter-terrorist state become a tool of legitimation rather than a tool of accountability? This important work grapples with this key question.'' John Ip, University of Auckland ''A succinct and detailed analysis of our new counter-terrorism laws, one that gets under their skin in a highly readable way – a spirited account of a dispiriting story about how difficult it is to halt this anti-extremism juggernaut.'' Conor Gearty, London School of Economics ''Democracy requires intrusive state powers, used on the basis of secret intelligence, to be subject to strong independent review. This book helps define what that review should look like.'' Lord Anderson of Ipswich, former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation ''This book breaks ground by comprehensively analysing various modes of scrutinizing counter-terrorism law, policy and practice, including judicial, governmental, legislative and civil society mechanisms. The capacious understanding and fair-minded, actionable critique of 'counter-terrorism review' that the authors develop will prove useful to governments, researchers and NGOs in the UK and internationally.'' Surabhi Chopra, Chinese University of Hong Kong