Commentary Schedule 2 – Seizure and forfeiture of terrorist publications Section 35 – Applications for extended detention of seized cash
160.This section amends Schedule 1 to the ATCSA. That Schedule makes provision for the forfeiture of terrorist cash. Under paragraph 2 of the Schedule an authorised officer may seize any cash if he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is terrorist cash. Terrorist cash means cash that is intended to be used for terrorist purposes, cash which consists of resources of a proscribed organisation and property that is earmarked as terrorist property.
161.Once terrorist cash has been seized paragraph 3 of the Schedule governs the length of time it can be detained. Initially the cash can be detained for 48 hours after which the authorised officer must apply to a Magistrates’ Court (or in Scotland a sheriff) to extend the period of detention. The first application for extension can also be made, outside Scotland, to a justice of the peace (paragraph 3(3)). This section adds a new subparagraph to paragraph 3 that provides that if the first application for extension of detention of terrorist cash is made to a justice of the peace (or the sheriff, in the case of Scotland) it can be heard without notice being given to the person affected by the order or that person’s legal representative and can be heard in private in the absence of the affected person and his legal representative. The person affected will have the opportunity to challenge the making of the order at a later date because he will be served with a copy of it (paragraph 3(4)) and can apply for it to be discharged (paragraph 5). Subsection (2) provides that this amendment will not be retrospective, and may only be applied to applications to extend detention of seized cash made after the commencement of this section.