CCPR/C/115/D/2005/2010
126. Second, regarding the possibility of imposing less invasive methods, Australia
submits that the control order regime in the Criminal Code represents a necessary and
proportionate response to the risk of terrorist acts. Consequently, the author’s positing of a
hypothetical alternative regime is without merit. Further, the imposition of the order
followed a properly conducted judicial process and the restrictions on the author conformed
to the principle of proportionality and were appropriate to achieve their protective function.
The author was required to report to the police twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays
between 5.15 a.m. and midnight. The requirement did not preclude the author from seeking
employment or studying. He was prevented from contacting any individual whom he knew
to be a member of a terrorist organization, which was necessary and proportionate in
addressing the risk of a terrorist act. He was not prohibited from using basic
telecommunication services. In reducing the reporting requirement, the Magistrate took into
account the impact on the author’s circumstances, including financial and personal ones.
Furthermore, the Australian Federal Police facilitated changes to the order to allow the
author to travel within Australia and change his residence from Adelaide to Sydney.
127. Third, the contention that the definition of “terrorist act” in the Criminal Code does
not satisfy the principle of legality lacks merit. Only article 15 of the Covenant embodies
elements of the principle of legality and does so in relation to criminal proceedings. The
control order proceedings were civil, not criminal. As article 15 does not apply to civil
proceedings, the author has failed to show that his contention regarding the definition of
“terrorist act” can be assessed against the Covenant. The author has also failed to establish
how the alleged problem with the definition of “terrorist act” affected him in the control
order proceedings.
128. Fourth, the contention that prior training is not sufficient, in and of itself, to justify a
control order without evidence of any continuing intention on the part of the affected
person to engage in terrorism, lacks merit. Under article 104.4 (1) of the Criminal Code, a
court has discretion as to whether to impose a control order where the person has provided
training to, or trained with, a listed terrorist organization. The court is required to be
satisfied that each of the obligations, prohibitions and restrictions to be imposed on the
person by the order is reasonably necessary and appropriate.
129. Fifth, the author had the opportunity to give evidence that he did not pose a danger
to the community, but did not use it. Furthermore, it is only the Federal Magistrate’s
evaluation of the facts and evidence that can properly be subjected to scrutiny by the
Committee and, then, only if it can be shown that such evaluation was clearly arbitrary or
amounted to a manifest error or denial of justice. As to the contention that the imposition of
the control order breached the ne bis in idem principle, the imposition of the control order
did not constitute a criminal penalty and the order did not subject the author to detention.
130. Sixth, the contention that the organizations with which the author trained were not
proscribed in Australian law at the time is irrelevant, since the purpose of the control order
proceedings was not to determine whether the author should be subject to a penalty for his
involvement with them. The fact that the author trained with them prior to their listing did
not reduce the harm that the author was considered to present at the time the court
considered the control order application.
131. Seventh, the contention that the activities undertaken by the author were not
unlawful at the time has not been substantiated on the merits, as the control order
proceedings were not criminal proceedings.
132. Lastly, the question of the interpretation of the author’s letters to his family is bound
up with the evaluation of evidence by the Magistrate. The author does not establish that the
Magistrate’s evaluation was clearly arbitrary or amounted to a manifest error or denial of
justice, or that the Magistrate otherwise violated his obligation of independence and
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