Blackstone's Guide to the Identity Cards Act 2006

by Wadham, John; Gallagher, Caoilfhionn; Chrolavicius, Nicole

• ISBN13: 9780199286065
• ISBN10: 019928606X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-05
• Publisher: Blackstone Press

Summary

The Blackstone's Guide Series delivers concise and accessible bookscovering the latest legislation changes and amendments. Published within weeksof an Act, they offer expert commentary by leading names on the effects, extentand scope of the legislation, plus a full copy of the Act itself. They offer acost-effective solution to key information needs and are the perfect companionfor any practitioner needing to get up to speed with the latest changes. The Identity Cards Act 2006 is a major piece of legislation which willfundamentally change the relationship between the state and the individual forpeople of all nationalities residing in the UK for more than three months. TheAct will affect the operation of much existing legislation, including; the DataProtection Act 1998; the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984; the Regulationof Investigatory Powers Act 2000; the Race Relations Act 1976; the Immigrationand Asylum Act 1999, and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act2004. The Act will have an impact on a wide range of legal areas, including;asylum and immigration; data protection and freedom of information; privacy;criminal; human rights; and civil liberties; and will introduce the following;- A complex range of new civil and criminal penalties- a new Commissioner's Office- New ways of working for those providing public services, such as the police,the NHS, the Passport Service, and benefit workersThis Guide is written by two experienced practitioners currently based atLiberty, the National Council for Civil Liberties. Structured in a clear andlogical way following the parts of the Act, it provides an up-to-date andinformative guide, making it an essential purchase for practitioners andorganisations working in a number of legal areas.

Author Biography

John Wadham has extensive experience in privacy, regulatory, administrative, human rights and civil liberties law. Since 2003 he has been Deputy Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), and prior to this he was Director of Liberty. In addition to his practical experience as a solicitor, John has co-authored a number of titles in the areas of public law, human rights, and civil liberties, including; Blackstone's Guide to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (OUP, 2nd edn Jan 2005 with Jonathan Griffiths); Blackstone's Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998 (OUP, 3rd edn Oct. 2003 with Helen Mountfield and Anna Edmundson); and the civil liberties section of The Penguin Guide to the Law. Dr. Caoilfhionn Gallagher is a barrister with privacy and comparative public law expertise. She recently joined Doughty Street Chambers, having formerly worked as a policy lawyer at Liberty. She has written many academic articles, conference papers, and book chapters published by Ashgate, Butterworths Ireland, Lexis-Nexis and Elsevier, anc co-authored a number of artciles on ID Cards with Liberty's current Director, Shami Chakrabarti, in 2004 and 2005. Nicole Chrolavicius is a Canadian barrister and solicitor with expertise in human rights law. Having formerly worked as a general litigation barrister with a leading firm in Toronto and then a judicial assistant at the Supreme Court of Canada, Nicole is currently the Advice and Information Project Officer at Liberty with responsibility for providing human rights advice to members of the public.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD	v
PREFACE	xvii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	xix
TABLE OF CASES	xxi
TABLES OF LEGISLATION, TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS	xxiii
1. INTRODUCTION	1	(10)
A. Overview
B. Identification Systems
1. Overview
2. Database Linking
3. Smart Cards
4. Biometrics
C. State Identification Systems in Britain
1. Overview
2. The First National ID Card
3. The Second National ID Card
4. Subsequent Attempts to Introduce a National ID Card
D. Structure of the Book
2. NATIONAL IDENTITY SYSTEMS IN OTHER COUNTRIES	11	(26)
A. Introduction
1. Overview
2. Functions of National ID Schemes
3. Objections to National ID Schemes
4. National Single-Purpose Card Schemes
B. European Countries
1. Overview
2. Compulsory Schemes
3. Voluntary Schemes
4. Cost
5. Types of Card
6. Information Retained and Displayed
7. Functions of National ID Cards
8. Non-Nationals
C. Common Law Countries
1. Overview
2. United States
3. Canada
4. Australia
D. Other Jurisdictions
1. Overview
2. Technology
3. Functions of National ID Cards
4. Information Retained and Displayed
5. Non-Nationals
E. Future Developments
3. OVERVIEW OF THE IDENTITY CARDS ACT 2006	37	(20)
A. Introduction
1. Overview
2. Parliamentary History of the Identity Cards Act 2006
B. The Identity Cards Act 2006
1. Territorial Extent
2. Effect of the Act
(a) Registration
(b) ID Cards
(c) Maintaining the Accuracy of the Register
(d) Use of Information for Verification or Otherwise Without Consent
(e) Required Identity Checks
(f) Other Purposes for which Information can be Provided from the Register
(g) Supervision of Operation of Act
(h) Offences
(i) Civil Penalties
(j) Fees and Charges
(k) Provisions Relating to Passports
(l) Supplemental
(m) Schedule 1
(n) Schedule 2
4. THE IDENTITY CARD	57	(14)
A. Introduction
B. Issuing ID Cards
1. Overview
2. Definition of ID Card
3. Issuing
4. Renewal of ID Cards
C. The Card
1. Overview
2. Appearance of the Card
3. Technical Requirements
4. International Civil Aviation Organization standards
5. Chip and Pin
6. Biometrics
7. Radio Frequency Identification
D. Carrying ID Cards
E. Multiple Cards
5. REGISTRATION	71	(14)
A. Introduction
B. The National Identity Register
1. Overview
2. Statutory Purposes
3. Registrable Facts
C. Individuals Entered in the Register
1. Overview
2. Exclusions
3. National Identity Registration Number
D. Information Recorded in the Register
1. Overview
2. Information Recorded in the Register
E. Designation of Documents
F. Application for Entry in the Register
G. Voluntary or Compulsory Registration
H. ID Cards for Those Compulsorily Registered
I. Fees and Charges
1. Overview
2. Fees in Respect of Functions Carried out under the Act
3. The Power to Raise Fees
4. Amendment of the Consular Fees Act 1980
J. Regulatory Impact Assessment
6. MAINTENANCE OF THE REGISTER	85	(12)
A. Introduction
B. Verifying Information on the Register
1. Overview
2. Requirements
3. Duty to Provide Information
4. Bodies which May be Required to Share Data
5. Enforcement
6. Payments
C. Verification of Passport Information
D. Notification of Changes
1. Overview
2. Duty
3. Notification
4. Requirements
5. Civil Penalties
6. Regulations
7. Fees
8. Auditing
7. IDENTITY CHECKS	97	(14)
A. Introduction
1. Parliamentary Background
2. Identity Checks and the Identity Cards Act 2006
3. Jurisdiction
B. Public Services
C. Conditional Public Services
1. Overview
2. Public Services that May Not be Conditional
(a) Statutory Entitlement to Receive a Payment
(b) Free Public Services
(c) Compulsory Registration
3. Carrying ID cards
4. Regulations
(a) Bodies which may make Regulations Under s 13
(b) Wales
(c) Scotland
(d) Northern Ireland
(e) Procedure
D. Identity Checks
1. Overview
2. Provision of Information
3. Conditions
4. Regulations
5. Process
6. Scotland
E. Prohibition on Requirements to Produce ID Cards
8. ACCESS TO THE REGISTER AND DISCLOSURE	111	(16)
A. Introduction
B. Use of Information with Consent
1. Overview
2. The Power to Provide Information from the Register with Consent
3. Accreditation Scheme
C. The Provision of Information without Consent
1. Overview
2. The Power to Share Information without Consent
(a) Specified National Security and Intelligence Agencies
(b) The Police
(c) Revenue and Customs
(d) Government Department or Northern Ireland Department
(e) Designated Documents Authority
3. Public Interest Limit
4. Paragraph 9 of Schedule I-Information about the 'Audit Trail'
D. Further Purposes Connected with the Prevention and Detection of Crime
1. Overview
2. Sharing Information without Consent for the Prevention and Detection of Crime
3. Exceptions
4. Paragraph 9 of Schedule 1-Information about the 'Audit Trail'
E. Correcting Inaccurate or Misleading Information
1. Overview
2. Correcting Inaccurate or Misleading Information
F. Power to Authorize Other Uses of Information without Consent
G. Rules for Using Information without Consent
1. Overview
2. The Information Cannot be Available through Other Means
3. Regulations
H. Passport Applications
I. Fees and Charges
9. CRIMINAL OFFENCES	127	(26)
A. Introduction
1. Overview
2. Jurisdiction
3. Parliamentary Context
4. Enactment
B. Falsification Offences
1. Overview
(a) Possession of a False Identity Document with Intent
(b) Possession of an Item Designed or Adapted to Make False Identity Documents with Intent
2. Possession or Control
3. False
(a) Scotland
(b) England, Wales and Northern Ireland
4. Improperly Obtained
5. Registrable Fact
6. Identity Document
(a) An ID Card
(b) A Designated Document
(c) An Immigration Document
(d) A UK Passport
(e) A Foreign Passport
(f) Alternatives to a Passport
(g) A UK Driving Licence
(h) A Foreign Driving Licence
7. Mens Rea
8. Specially Designed or Adapted
9. Sentence
10. Relationship to Other Offences
C. Possession of False Identity Documents
1. Overview
2. Strict Liability
3. Reasonable Excuse
4. Possession
5. Sentence
6. Impact
7. Strict liability and the European Convention on Human Rights
D. Unauthorized Disclosure of Information
1. Overview
2. Confidentiality
3. Lawful Authority
4. Reasonable Belief
5. Sentence
6. Impact
E. Providing False Information
1. Overview
2. Falsity
3. ID card
4. Modification
5. Sentence
F. Tampering with the Register
1. Overview
2. Actus Reus
3. Mens Rea
4. Defence
5. Sentence
G. Immigration and Asylum Offences
1. Immigration Documents
2. Arrest Powers
3. Employers
10. CIVIL PENALTIES	153	(16)
A. Introduction
1. Overview
2. Parliamentary Context
3. Jurisdiction
B. Liability to Civil Penalties
1. Overview
2. Compulsory Registration
3. Individuals to whom ID Cards have been Issued
C. Imposition of Civil Penalties
1. Overview
2. Procedure for Imposition
(a) Warning Letters
(b) Penalty Notice
3. Paying the Civil Penalty
4. Amount
5. Enforcement of Penalties
D. Objections to Civil Penalties
1. Overview
2. Notice of Objection
3. Consideration by the Secretary of State
E. Appeals
1. Overview
2. The Appeal
3. Outcome
F. Code of Practice
1. Issuing the Code of Practice
2. Status of the Code
G. Civil Proceedings
11. OVERSIGHT OF THE NATIONAL IDENTITY SCHEME	169	(14)
A. Introduction
B. Parliament
1. Overview
2. Statutory Instruments
3. Cost
4. Impact Assessments
5. 'Function Creep' and Parliament's Role
C. The National Identity Scheme Commissioner
1. Overview
2. Appointment
3. Staffing
4. Functions of the Commissioner
5. Duty to Provide Information to the Commissioner
6. Freedom of Information
7. Reports by the Commissioner
8. Limitations
D. The Intelligence Services Commissioner and Tribunal
1. Overview
2. Intelligence Services Commissioner
3. Investigatory Powers Tribunal
E. Office of Surveillance Commissioners
12. REMEDIES	183	(8)
A. Introduction
B. Information Commissioner
C. Civil Courts
1. Appealing Civil Penalties
2. Judicial Review
3. The Human Rights Act 1998
(a) Overview
(b) Challenging the Identity Cards Act 2006 in Practice
(c) The Right to Privacy
(d) Freedom of Expression
(e) Prohibition Against Discrimination
4. Launching a Human Rights Act 1998 Claim
D. Parliamentary Ombudsman
E. Sector-specific Oversight Bodies
APPENDIX 1. Identity Cards Act 2006	191	(42)
APPENDIX 2. Parliamentary Progress Timetable	233	(20)
APPENDIX 3. The Identity Cards Act 2006 draft Code of Practice on Civil Penalties	253	(8)
INDEX	261