The Law on the fight against terrorism (french: Loi relative à la lutte contre le terrorisme), abbreviated LCT, is a 2006 French

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

legislation designed to improve state security and strengthen border control. The legislation was passed on 23 January 2006 under the leadership of

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, then the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. Notably the law increased punitive measures for criminal association and gave the government more power to access personal information online.

Background

After the

2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...

perpetrated by

Islamic extremists Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...

, Sarkozy pushed to strengthen

measures in France. Sarkozy introduced the bill in the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...

on 28 October 2005, saying that while France had never yielded to terrorist intimidation and never would, the rise in global terrorism necessitated change in policy.

Legislation

The legislation amended several previous criminal codes, including the first French counter-terrorism law, introduced in 1986. The 2006 act particularly increased the breadth of government surveillance without judicial control. * Police may access an individual's computer files without a warrant to prevent a terrorist act. *

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

s and Internet cafes are required to retain login and connection data for one year and to provide this data to authorities if requested. * Authorities may receive telephone and cell phone usage details, without the permission of a judge. * The time a person can be held without charges was increased from four to six days in cases of "serious risk of imminent terrorist action in France or abroad." * Increased

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

surveillance in public * Identity checks, including on board international trains, are strengthened. * The Prime Minister or a person qualified in the Interior Ministry may authorize listening devices to record conversations.

Criticisms

The law was criticized for encroaching on personal freedoms and liberties, in particular, accessing phone and Internet data without a signed warrant from a judicial authority. "Internet surveillance has now escaped from any legal proceedings to be placed under the direct control of the state," criticized ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law on the fight against terrorism 2006 in France 2006 in law Government databases in France Information privacy Terrorism laws Counterterrorism in France French criminal law

Background

Legislation

Criticisms

See also

References