SEEU Review vol. 6 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

Dennis J. Farrington, PhDto mutiny and disaffection, 53 harassment, 54 breaking up public meetings, 55 theoffences created by the Terrorism Act 2000 (TA), the Anti-Terrorism, Crimeand Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) 56 as amended by the Prevention ofTerrorism Act 2005, 57 the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Counter-TerrorismAct 2008, 58 together with the various statutes relating to the use of electroniccommunications. ‘The law’ probably includes European law (as part ofdomestic law) and international law (so far as incorporated into domesticlaw.) It might be interpreted by HEIs as allowing them to impose private lawrestrictions such as those contained in a research contract prohibitingpublication of research results without a sponsor’s consent, 59 but this isuntested. Section 1 Terrorism Act 2006 applies to a statement that is likely tobe understood by some or all of the members of the public to whom it ispublished as a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to themto the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism orConvention offences. In the 2010 version of its Financial Memorandum, 60the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), as principalregulator for HEIs which are exempt charities 61 , requires them to report535455565758596061Offences Act 2003 and in Scotland the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (ASP); inNorthern Ireland the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, SI 2008/1769.The original Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797, one of three Acts passed as a result of themutinies in the fleet at Spithead and the Nore between April and June 1797, was repealedby the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998. The other two had been repealed earlier. Itappears that the Incitement to Disaffection Act 1934, which remains in force, providesadequate protection for the military.Prevention from Harassment Act 1997; Equality Act 2010.Public Meeting Act 1908 s 1, as amended, notably by the Public Order Acts 1936 and1963; political meetings are governed by separate legislation (Representation of thePeople Acts 1949 and 1983); the 1908 Act was repealed for Northern Ireland by thePublic Order Act (Northern Ireland ) 1951.The anti-terrorist legislation imposes certain other controls on institutional autonomyrelating to the storage and use of materials of potential use to terrorists.Introducing control orders: continued in force annually: see Prevention of Terrorism(Continuation in Force of Sections 1 to 9) Order 2010, SI 2010/645.Australia has taken a robust approach to the issues around terrorism. The offence ofsedition created in s.80.2 of the Commonwealth of Australia’s Criminal Code is similar tothe offences created in TA and its successors. This, along with other laws and policieswhich potentially affect academic freedom, is discussed in E MacDonald and G Williams‘Banned books and seditious speech: Anti-Terrorism laws and other threats to academicfreedom’ (2007) 12(1) Australia and New Zealand Journal of Law & Education 29-46.As might be envisaged in some types of agreement made following the Lambert Reviewof HEI– commercial collaboration, http://www.innovation.gov.uk/lambertagreements/,accessed 1 October 2010.Appendix H, paragraph 10. www.hefce.ac.uk accessed 1 October 2010.Most HEIs are exempt charities. Those HEIs which are not (predominantly non-universityHEIs) are regulated directly by the Charity Commission and subject to the same reportingrequirement.22