Criminal Finances Bill — House of Commons, 2017-02-21
Topic: Civil Rights
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 1—Civil recovery: gross abuse of human rights— ‘(1) Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (civil recovery of the proceeds etc. of unlawful conduct) is amended as follows (2) In section 241 (which defines unlawful conduct), after subsection (2), insert— "(2A) Conduct which— (a) occurs in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom and has been designated as conduct by a person connected to a gross human rights abuse in accordance with the provisions of section 241B, and (b) if it occurred in a part of the United Kingdom, would be or would have been unlawful under the criminal law of that part at the relevant time, is also unlawful conduct." (3) After section 241 (which defines unlawful conduct), insert— "241A Conduct connected to a gross human rights abuse (1) "Conduct connected to a gross human rights abuse" means— (a) involvement by a Person ("A") in torture or other serious breaches of human rights and fundamental freedoms against a Person ("B") where B sought or seeks— (i) to expose illegal activity carried out by foreign public officials, or (ii) to obtain, exercise, defend or promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, (b) activities by a Person ("C") as an agent in a matter relating to an activity by A described in paragraph (a), (c) activities by a Person ("D") to profit from, materially assist, sponsor, or provide financial, material or technological support for, or goods and services in support of, an activity by A described in paragraph (a), (d) commission by a Person ("E"), whether or not a foreign public official, of the illegal activity described in paragraph (a)(i) (2) For the purposes of this section, it is immaterial where the conduct occurred (3) In this section "human rights and fundamental freedoms" means the "Convention rights" as defined in section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 241B Designation of conduct connected to a gross human rights abuse ‘(1) The High Court may make an order designating that the actions of the respondent constitute conduct connected to a gross human rights abuse and, if considered appropriate, that— (a) a person is prohibited from dealing with property, funds or economic resources owned, held or controlled by the respondent if the person knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that the person is dealing with such property, funds or economic resources, (b) a person is prohibited from making property, funds or financial services available (directly or indirectly) to the respondent if the person knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect that the person is making the funds or financial services so available, (c) a person is prohibited from making funds or financial services available to any person for the benefit of the respondent if the person knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that the person is making the funds or financial services so available (2) An order under subsection (1) may only be made on application (3) An application for an order under subsection (1) may be made by— (a) the Secretary of State, (b) an individual, or (c) an entity, including a non-governmental organisation (4) An application for an order under subsection (1) must be supported by a statement of information which addresses— (a) the circumstances surrounding the respondent’s conduct connected to a gross human rights abuse, and (b) the nature and extent of the respondent’s involvement (5) An application for an order under subsection (1) may be made without notice to the respondent to a judge in chambers (6) The Court must be satisfied that it is in the public interest to make an order under subsection (1) (7) The Court shall reach a decision on an order under subsection (1) on the balance of probabilities 241C Duration, extension, variation and discharge of an order ‘(1) The High Court shall specify the duration of an order under section 241B(1) which shall not exceed two years (2) In determining the duration of an order, the Court shall have regard to the likely duration of consequential proceedings under this Part (3) The Court may extend an order for a maximum period to two years at any time before it expires, if it is satisfied that the requirements of a designation order continue to be met (4) An extension application may be made without the need for a hearing if the court considers it appropriate (5) An application to extend, vary or discharge an order may be made to the court by— (a) the Secretary of State, (b) the applicant, (c) the respondent, or (d) any person affected by the order (6) An application to discharge a designation order must be made by the applicant as soon as reasonably practicable in circumstances where the requirements of an order are no longer satisfied 241D Appeals, etc. ‘(1) The following persons may appeal to the Court of Appeal in respect of the High Court’s decision on matters falling to be decided under sections 241B and 241C— (a) the applicant, (b) the respondent, or (c) any person affected by the order (2) On an appeal under subsection (1) the Court of Appeal may— (a) confirm the decision, or (b) make such orders as it believes appropriate (3) An appeal lies to the Supreme Court from a decision of the Court of Appeal on an appeal under this section (4) An appeal under this section lies at the instance of any person who was a party to the proceedings before the Court of Appeal (5) On an appeal under this section the Supreme Court may— (a) confirm the decision of the Court of Appeal, or (b) make such order as it believes is appropriate 241E Standard to be applied All matters to be determined by a court under sections 241B to 241D are to be decided on the balance of probabilities 241F Costs In the exercise of its discretion, a court may, on application, make a costs capping order in respect of proceedings under sections 241B to 241D 241G Duties in respect of gross abuse of human rights ‘(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to apply for an order under section 241B where the Secretary of State is satisfied that— (a) the requirements for the making of an order are met; and (b) it is in the public interest to make the application (2) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to maintain a public register of— (a) individuals in respect of whom orders have been made under section 241B(1), (b) the circumstances giving rise to the making of such orders, and (c) any decisions of a court under sections 241C and 241D in relation to such orders (3) In any case where a relevant authority considers that evidence is available of property being held by a person in respect of whom an order has been made under section 241B which may represent property obtained through unlawful conduct, it shall be the duty of the relevant authority to seek to initiate proceedings for civil recovery under this Part." (4) In section 304 (which defines recoverable property), after subsection (1), insert— "(1A) Property of a person who is the subject of a designation order under section 241B is presumed to have been obtained through unlawful conduct unless the contrary is shown by the respondent."" This new clause extends the scope of unlawful conduct for the purposes of Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to cover to certain actions connected to a gross human rights abuse which has taken place abroad. Government amendments 58 and 59.