House of Representatives Committees

Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD

Committee activities (inquiries and reports)

Review of the listing of seven terrorist organisations

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Chapter 1 Introduction

The Government’s procedures

1.1

This review is conducted under section 102.1A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (the Criminal Code). Section 102.1A provides that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD (the Committee) may review a regulation specifying an organisation as a terrorist organisation for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of terrorist organisation in section 102.1 of the Criminal Code and report the Committee’s comments to each house of the Parliament before the end of the applicable disallowance period. This is the third review undertaken under this power during the current Parliament.

1.2

The regulations under review have specified the following organisations as terrorist organisations for the purposes of section 102.1 of the Criminal Code:

1.3

These organisations were initially listed as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code in 2003. Under subsection 102.1 (3) of the Criminal Code, the regulations cease to have effect on their second anniversary.

1.4

The Attorney-General informed the Committee of the proposed re-listing of Ansar al-Islam by letter dated 17 March 2005. The Committee was advised of the re-listing of Asbat al-Ansar, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e Jhangvi by the Attorney-General’s letters dated 23 March 2005. The Attorney-General wrote to the Chairman again on 31 March 2005 advising of the re-listing of the Islamic Army of Aden.

1.5

The Attorney-General issued media releases announcing the decisions to re-list the organisations on 23 March 2005 and 7 April 2005. The media releases provided open source details on the organisations.

1.6

The regulations were tabled in the House of Representatives on 24 May 2005. The disallowance period of 15 sitting days for the Committee’s review of the listing began from the date of the tabling. Therefore, the Committee is required to report to the Parliament by 10 August 2005.

1.7

The Committee advertised the inquiry in The Australian on 11 April 2005. Notice of the inquiry was also placed on the Committee’s website and two submissions were received from the general public.

1.8

Representatives of the Attorney-General’s Department, ASIO and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) attended a private hearing on the listings on 2 May 2005 in Canberra.

1.9

In its first report, Review of the listing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Committee decided that it would test the validity of the listing of a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code on both the procedures and the merits. Chapter 2 will examine the Government’s procedures in listing the organisations and broader issues regarding the proscription power. Chapter 3 will consider the merits of the listings.

 

The Government’s procedures

1.10

In a letter sent to the Committee on 18 April 2005, the Attorney-General’s Department informed the Committee that it had adhered to the following procedures for the purpose of listing the organisations:

Ansar al-Islam:
Asbat al-Ansar:
Egyptian Islamic Jihad:
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan:
Jaish-e-Mohammad:
Lashkar-e Jhangvi:
Islamic Army of Aden:

Print Chapter 1(PDF 68KB) < - Report Home < - Preliminary Pages : Chapter 2 - >

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