Clause 62
Counter-Terrorism Bill
5:00 pm
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
Under the Bill, the asset-freezing provisions come into force at Royal Assent. Therefore, if the amendments are accepted, we will have a period in which the rules of court will not have been consulted on or agreed but the personal parts of the Bill will be in force, which is clearly not appropriate. As the provision says, we need to have a full and substantive consultation. None the less, it is highly desirable that the rules of court, which are made under clause 62 and the contents of which are provided for in part by clauses 57 and 58, should have effect as soon as possible after part 5 of the Counter-Terrorism Act comes into force. That is because the rules of court will set out the procedure which is to apply to the appointment of the special advocate, for which provision is made in clause 59.
As the hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield said, part 2 states clearly that we should properly consult with the Lord Chief Justice of England Wales on the rules applicable in England and Wales, and the same for Northern Ireland. That is right and proper. It is simply a matter of timing so that we have the consultation on the rules of court taking place at the same time as we bring in part 5. The notion of part 5 commencing before the rules of court are in place is inappropriate. The notion that there should be any delay in the implementation of part 5—contiguous hopefully with Royal Assent—would be unfair to the individuals concerned. Therefore, it is a matter of timing. We want as much consultation as possible, but we want to do it in a timely fashion.