The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Foreign Travel Notification Requirements) Regulations 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 4 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (“the 2008 Act”) provides that certain persons convicted of, or made subject to a mental health-related finding in relation to, a terrorist or terrorist-related offence are required to notify specified information to the police in accordance with the requirements in that Part. This includes persons convicted of a corresponding foreign offence who are made subject to a notification order under Schedule 4 to the 2008 Act.

Section 52 of the Act allows the Secretary of State to make regulations imposing further notification requirements on such persons in relation to their foreign travel. Section 96(2) of the 2008 Act allows such regulations to make different provision for different categories of cases. These Regulations make provision requiring persons to whom the notification requirements in Part 4 of the 2008 Act apply who leave the United Kingdom for a period of three or more days to notify the police of their departure before they leave and of their return if they subsequently return to the United Kingdom.

Section 52 of the 2008 Act provides that a notification of departure must disclose the date on which the person intends to leave the United Kingdom, the country (or, if there is more than one, the first country) to which the person will travel, the point of arrival in that country and any other information required by the regulations. Regulation 3 specifies the further information to be disclosed before departure.

Regulation 4 makes provision for when the information that must be disclosed in a notification of departure is to be notified. Regulation 5 makes provision relating to the notification to be given on the person’s return to the United Kingdom. Regulation 6 provides the procedure for making notifications under these Regulations. Regulation 7 makes transitional provision to ensure the requirements do not have retrospective effect.

Section 54(1) of the 2008 Act makes it an offence for a person to fail without reasonable excuse to comply with these Regulations or for a person to notify any information in purported compliance with these Regulations that the person knows to be false. The maximum penalty for such an offence is five years’ imprisonment.