Commentary on Sections Section 2 – Protection of things done or omitted in interim period
15.Subsection (1) specifies that the provisions of section 2 of the Act have effect in relation to things done or omitted in the period beginning with 4th February 2010 (that is, the day on which the 2006 Order was quashed) and ending with the coming into force of the Act. The provisions of section 2 therefore have retrospective effect.
16.Subsection (2) provides that anything done or omitted by a person other than the Treasury during that period is to be treated as valid, lawful or effectual as if the 2001 Order, the 2006 Order and the 2009 Order had been validly made under and their provisions were within the scope of the UN Act. This subsection is designed to protect for example financial institutions who continued to comply with the restrictions in the Orders applying to a designated person between the date of the quashing of the 2006 Order and the date the Act came into force, ensuring that their actions during that period were not rendered unlawful by virtue of the judgment of the Supreme Court.
17.Subsection (3) specifies that actions taken by persons during that period in reliance on or in consequence of something done or omitted by the Treasury are protected. So a person who acted in reliance on a direction given by the Treasury under the 2001 Order, the 2006 Order or the 2009 Order will be treated as having acted lawfully.
18.Subsection (4) ensures that section 2 does not affect the bringing of any legal challenges on a ground independent of the question whether those Orders were validly made under the UN Act.
19.Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) provides that section 2 does not affect any liability of the Treasury in respect of an act or omission which would be unlawful if this section were not enacted. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) ensures that no criminal liability attaches to any acts or omissions by persons during the retrospective period. Criminal liability may arise in respect of acts or omissions which occur after Royal Assent in accordance with section 1.