Control orders post 9-11 and human rights in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada - a Kafkaesque dilemma

This article aims to assess the impact that the European Convention of Human Rights, incorporated into British law through the Human Rights Act 1998, has had on the control order regime in the United Kingdom. It will discuss recent British jurisprudence on the topical question of whether there can be a true balance between the civil liberties of an individual and the need to protect state and society from a continuing terrorist threat. The article compares the UK’s present control order system of summer 2010 with similar legislation, which the Commonwealth jurisdictions of Australia and Canada have enacted to protect their nations from the threat of terrorism. It will conclude with a discussion of possible reforms as well as other security measures which have been identified as alternatives to control orders and which form the basis of present UK governmental initiatives to limit the scope and impact of anti terrorism legislation.