(53) Therefore, in order to introduce the new provisions it was necessary to derogate from article 5(1) under the provisions of article 15 ECHR, which provides that "[i]n time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation," any of the contracting parties may take measures derogating from its obligations under the ECHR "to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation." (54) However, as noted above, the relevant provisions under part IV ACTSA were declared unlawful by the House of Lords in Belmarsh.
It is of course true that in relation to the executive's first pre-emptive strategy, executive detention under ACTSA, Parliament passed the derogation order readily enough.
(24) The 2001 UK ACTSA (supra note 6) was passed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and rapidly passed in the Commons, but it contained measures that were not directly concerned with terrorism matters (see Helen Fenwick, "The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001: A Proportionate Response to 11 September?" (2002) 65:5 Mod L Rev 724 at 726-27).
These sentiments are broadly supported by Mr Ben Jackson - the newly appointed Director of the London based lobby group Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA).
A related concern for ACTSA is the proposal by the European Union to cut European Development Fund (EDF) assistance to the SADC.