Proscribed Terrorist Organisations
Section 2 of the Anti-Terrorism and Crime Act 2003 requires the Department of Home Affairs to publish a list of those organisations which are proscribed as being terrorist organisations for the purposes of that Act.
This list is to be formed of those organisations which are included within Schedule 2 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (an Act of Parliament).
The publicly issued list can be found in PDF form on this page and further information about the proscribed organisations is below.
What does proscribed mean?
For clarity, in respect of this legislation, the term proscribed means forbidden due to being harmful or unlawful and should not be confused with prescribed which means laid down or dictated as a rule or instruction for others to follow.
What is a proscribed organisation?
For the purposes of the Terrorism Act 2000 (an Act of Parliament), the Home Secretary may proscribe an organisation if they believe it is concerned in terrorism, and it is proportionate to do.
The full detail of those proscribed organisations can be found within Schedule 2 of the Terrorism Act 2000, the full text of which can be accessed via the United Kingdom Legislation Website: www.legislation.gov.uk
For the purposes of that Act, this means that the organisation:
- commits or participates in acts of terrorism
- prepares for terrorism
- promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism)
- is otherwise concerned in terrorism
Further details of the individual proscribed organisations and the context or activity of those organisations can be found on the United Kingdom Government Website within the Home Office pages.
What is meant by ‘terrorism’?
Full details of the exact definition of terrorism and the offences that relate to these actions are found in the Anti-Terrorism and Crime Act 2003 which can be found on the Isle of Man Legislation website.
Terrorism as defined by the Anti-Terrorism and Crime Act 2003 means the use or threat of action where the action: involves serious violence against a person; involves serious damage to property; endangers a person’s life (other than that of the person committing the act); creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or section of the public or is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system.
The use or threat of such action must be designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and must be undertaken for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
This includes any activity thatconstitutes a “Convention offence”. A “Convention offence” means an offence listed in Schedule 13A of the Anti-Terrorism and Crime Act 2003, or an equivalent offence under the law of a county or territory outside the Island. Examples of these would be offences relating to explosives, biological weapons or hostage taking, the Schedule provides an exhaustive list
Any and all use or threat of action which would involve firearms or explosives is terrorism whether or not it involves serious violence against a person; serious damage to property; endangers a person’s life (other than that of the person committing the act); creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or section of the public or is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system providing that it was undertaken for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
