'Excessive’ and ‘abusive’ anti-terrorism measures have undermined international human rights law, according to a report by an independent panel of judges and lawyers.

After a three-year study, the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, established by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), said governments had used the fear of terrorism to rush through counter-productive measures.

The report says the legal framework that existed before the 11 September attacks was sufficient to meet current threats and that criminal law should be at the heart of the legal response to terrorism.

In the UK, the panel expressed concern about the use of ‘special advocates’ who are forbidden to communicate with the person they represent, and on the difficulty of ensuring fair trials where evidence is not available to the suspect.

The panel also criticised the creation of imprecisely defined offences.

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