§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the European Court of Justice has any jurisdiction in the matter of the banning of persons from the mainland of the United Kingdom under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)The European Court of Justice is charged under the Treaty on European Union with the duty of ensuring that Community law is interpreted and applied correctly. The Treaty has, from the outset, provided certain rights of free movement to nationals of member states subject to limitations which may be justified on grounds,inter alia, of public security. Consequently the question of whether the exclusion provisions in the Prevention of Terrorism Act are compatible with Community law is one which the European Court may have jurisdiction to resolve in certain circumstances. If, for example, any person considered that their rights had been infringed by the making of an exclusion order, they could apply for judicial review of the order in the High Court. If the High Court considered it necessary to enable it to give judgement, it could seek a preliminary ruling from the European Court on the interpretation of the Treaty or of acts of the institutions of the Community. The High Court would then have to resolve the issues before it in the light of the European Court's ruling.