Editing Terrorism Act 2000 (section)

====Section 44====
The most commonly encountered use of the Act was outlined in Section 44 which enables the police and the [[Home Secretary]] to define any area in the country as well as a time period wherein they could stop and search any vehicle or person, and seize "articles of a kind which could be used in connection with terrorism".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00011--f.htm#44 |publisher=[[Government of the United Kingdom]] |access-date=2023-04-26 |archive-date=November 20, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051120012113/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00011--f.htm |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |lang=en-gb}}</ref> Unlike other [[Stop and search|stop and search powers]] that the police can use, Section 44 does not require the police to have "reasonable suspicion" that an offence has been committed, to search an individual.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/dec/09/police-detain-arrest-kettling|title=How can the police detain you?|last=Welch|first=James|date=9 December 2009|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 December 2009 | location=London}}</ref>

In 2009, over 100,000 searches were conducted under the powers, but none of these resulted in people being arrested for terrorism offences. 504 were arrested for other offences.<ref>{{cite news|author=Alan Travis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/oct/28/terrorism-police-stop-search-arrests |title=No terror arrests in 100,000 police counter-terror searches, figures show |work=The Guardian |date=28 October 2010 |access-date=28 October 2010 }}</ref>

In January 2010, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] ruled that stop-and-search powers granted under Section 44 were incompatible with the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]. It held that the rights under [[Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights|Article 8]] of two people stopped in 2003 outside the [[ExCeL London|ExCeL convention centre]] in London, which at the time was hosting a military equipment exhibition, had been breached. The Court found the powers were "not sufficiently circumscribed" and lacked "adequate legal safeguards against abuse", contrary to<!--Not "overruling" – ECtHR decisions cannot do that under the UK's constitution--> a 2003 [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] judgment upheld at the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]] and the [[House of Lords]].<ref name=BBC-Web1>{{cite news
  | title = Stop-and-search powers ruled illegal by European court
  |work=BBC News
  | date = 12 January 2010
  | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8453878.stm
  | access-date = 12 January 2010}}</ref>

Pending new powers in the [[Protection of Freedoms Bill]] (see [[#Section 47A|Section 47A]]), [[Theresa May]] made a [[Statutory Instrument (UK)#Remedial Orders under the Human Rights Act 1998|remedial order]] under the [[Human Rights Act 1998]] (the [[Terrorism Act 2000 (Remedial) Order 2011]]), which had the effect of repealing sections 44, 45, 46 and most of section 47.<ref name=HOpage>{{cite web|title=Terrorism Act 2000 (Remedial) Order 2011|url=http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/counter-terrorism/terrorism-act-remedial-order/|website=GOV.UK |publisher=[[Home Office]]|access-date=4 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="TA(R)O 2011"/>

{{quote|Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.
|author=London [[Metropolitan Police Service]]
|source=Photography Advice<ref name=met-photo-advice/>}}