Accountability and Review in the Counter-Terrorist State

"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

“The study develops an assured and extremely fruitful dynamic to produce the first comprehensive account of counterterrorism review.” Journal of Law and Society

"In accordance with its ambition, this book is an accessible, intriguing, insightful and highly stimulating venture into an increasingly complex and amorphous subject, satisfying a clear need for exposing the weaknesses in counter-terrorism review that are only becoming more concerning as the counter-terrorist state expands." The Modern Law Review

''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

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.

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