Calling out the troops and the Civil Contingencies Act : some questions of concern

In the United Kingdom and a number of comparable countries, notably the United States, Canada and Australia, the first decade of the 21st century has seen measures introduced to provide governments and other authorities greater or more specific powers to call out the armed forces to deal with domestic disturbances. This article reviews the developments in the United Kingdom where, in contrast to the legislation passed in Australia, no attempt has been made to statutorily codify the relevant powers. Instead, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 added an overlay of measures to an existing mixture of legislative, common law and prerogative powers. Apart from one detailed analysis of the Civil Contingencies Act, little attention has been paid to the expansion of these powers and their implications for basic democratic principles.