Temporary Restrictions on Travel: How the United Kingdom deals with foreign fighters and how it affects the individual's Human Rights

I februari 2015 antog det Brittiska parlamentet the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, i syfte att fylla ut luckor i den tidigare kontra-terror lagstiftningen. De temporära reseförbud som därmed infördes riktas mot det tilltagande problemet med så kallade foreign fighters och består av två delar. Befogenheten att beslagta och kvarhålla pass och andra resedokument ger en gränskontrollerande tjänsteman friheten att bestämma om det föreligger skälig grund att misstänka att personen ifråga har för avsikt att resa utanför Storbritannien för att delta i terrorismrelaterad verksamhet. I en sådan situation har tjänstemannen tillåtelse att beslagta passet och/eller resedokumenten och, efter tillstånd av en polistjänsteman av högre rang, kvarhålla dem. Den andra delen aktiveras när en person befinner sig utanför Storbritannien och Secretary of State (den minister som har det övergripande ansvaret för säkerhet och terrorism, lagstiftning och budgetfrågor) anser att det finns skälig anledning att misstänka att personen är, eller har varit, delaktig i terrorismrelaterad verksamhet. Secretary of State kan då söka tillstånd hos en domstol om att få ålägga individen en temporär exkluderingsorder. Domstolen är skyldig att ge tillstånd, såvida inte de beslut Secretary of State har fattat är uppenbart felaktiga. Till följd av detta förbjuds individen att återvända till Storbritannien, oavsett om det är en Brittisk medborgare eller inte. För den händelse att andra länder följer Storbritannien och introducerar nya kontra-terror åtgärder för att förhindra människor från att resa utomlands för att delta i terrorism, är det nödvändigt att granska vilka konsekvenser för mänskliga rättigheter dessa åtgärder medför. I den här uppsatsen argumenterar jag för att de temporära reseförbuden är straffrättsliga till sin natur, även om de i det inhemska rättssystemet klassificeras som administrativa åtgärder. Europadomstolen för mänskliga rättigheter fastställde i sitt avgörande i Engel med flera mot Nederländerna tre kriterier för att avgöra den de facto karaktären på nationella bestämmelser så som de ska tolkas inom ramen för Europakonventionen för mänskliga rättigheter: den nationella klassificeringen, brottets beskaffenhet och straffets allvarlighet. Genom tillämpning av dessa kriterier på de temporära reseförbuden, visar min analys att utövandet av befogenheterna innebär ett åläggande av en straffrättslig sanktion, särskilt med beaktande av de allvarliga intrång i individens mänskliga rättigheter som de orsakar. Att betrakta lagrum som straffrättsliga, i motsats till administrativa, ställer krav på att inkludera processuella skyddsmekanismer som är lämpliga för den straffrättsliga standarden. Det grundläggande skyddet i detta hänseende är rätten till en rättvis rättegång i Europakonventionens artikel 6. För att användningen av de temporära reseförbuden ska vara laglig måste en godtycklig tillämpning undvikas, vilket kräver en adekvat rättslig granskning. Min analys visar att lagen saknar tillräckliga skyddsmekanismer vilket medför en nackdel för den berörda individen, något jag menar beror på valet att betrakta åtgärderna som administrativa.In February 2015 the British Parliament adopted the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 for the purpose of filling gaps in the previous counterterrorism legislations. The temporary restriction on travel measures thus introduced, target the increasing problem with so-called foreign fighters and consist of two elements. The power to seize and retain passports and/or travel documents entrusts a port constable the discretion to decide whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual intends to leave the United Kingdom for engaging in terrorism-related activity while being abroad. In such event, the constable is permitted to seize the passport and/or travel documents, and on authorization from a senior police officer, retain them. The second element is triggered when a person is outside the UK and the Secretary of State considers there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is, or has been, involved in terrorism-related activity. The Secretary of State may then seek permission from a court to impose a Temporary Exclusion Order upon the individual. The court is obliged to give permission, unless the decisions taken by the Secretary of State are obviously flawed, which results in the person being prohibited from returning to the UK, regardless of whether the affected individual is a UK citizen or not. In the event of other States following the UK in introducing new counterterrorism measures to prevent people from travelling abroad to participate in terrorism, it is vital to assess the human rights implications these measures bring. In this thesis, I argue that the temporary restriction on travel measures are criminal in nature although in the domestic legal order they are classified as administrative powers. The European Court of Human Rights established in its judgment in Engel and Others v the Netherlands three criteria for determining the de facto character of domestic provisions as they should be understood within the meaning of the European Convention on Human Rights: the label in national law, the nature of the offence and the severity of the penalty. In applying these criteria to the temporary restrictions on travel, my analysis shows that the use of these powers amounts to an imposition of a criminal sanction, in particular due to the severe intrusions with the affected individual’s human rights and liberties they cause. To consider a provision criminal in nature, as opposed to administrative, renders the need to include procedural safeguards appropriate for criminal law standards. The fundamental protection in this respect is the right to a fair trial codified in ECHR, article 6. For the use of the temporary restrictions on travel measures to be lawful, adequate judicial review is crucial in order to protect from an arbitrary application. As my analysis reveals, the Act lacks sufficient safeguards to the detriment of the targeted individual, which I contend is due to the choice to regard the provisions as containing administrative powers

Final results from IEA HPT Annex 52 - Long-term performance of large GSHP systems

Annex 52 - the international collaboration project on long-term performance of larger ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems initiated through the Heat Pumping Technologies (HPT) technical collaboration program (TCP) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2018 - was completed in December 2021. The aim of this IEA Annex was to analyze monitored long-term performance data from a variety of GSHP systems serving commercial, institutional, and multi-family buildings in the seven participating countries. To account for the variation and complexity of large GSHP systems, an extended system boundary schema, based on the SEPEMO schema, was developed, and used within Annex 52. 29 large GSHP performance-monitoring case studies, located in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA have been analyzed and reported. Performance factors and other system efficiency indicators for relevant time frames and system boundaries were determined. The experience from the included case studies have resulted in guideline documents for instrumentation and monitoring, as well as for uncertainty calculations and performance analysis and reporting. These documents will be of help for future GSHP projects, system optimization and fault detection. This paper provides a summary of the outcomes and results from Annex 52.Mechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Vertical GSHP systems in Sweden 1978-2015 - A survey based on the Swedish Well Database

The Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) is the Swedish government agency responsible for groundwater, geological and mineral management in Sweden. SGU provides open access geological data on rock, soil and groundwater conditions. Since 1978 over 600 000 wells (water wells, GSHP boreholes, etc) have been registered in the SGU Well Database, with around 20 000 new registrations per year. Sweden is one of the leading countries in the world in developing and using ground source heat pump (GSHP) technology. Of the more than 600 000 registered wells, roughly 320 000 wells are registered as GSHP boreholes. The vast majority of these GSHP boreholes are single boreholes for single-family buildings. The number of large GSHP systems with 20 boreholes or more, is estimated to 300-350 sites. This paper uses data from the SGU Well Database to quantify and analyze the number of vertical GSHP systems reported between 1978-2015, with special focus on GSHP systems with 20 or more boreholes. Results are shown from the development of larger vertical GSHP system installments over the years, number of registrations per year, system size, average well depth, and geographical distribution

Half-term results from IEA HPT Annex 52: Long-term performance monitoring of large GSHP systems

IEA HPT Annex 52, Long-term performance measurement of GSHP systems serving commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings, started in January 2018 and will close in December 2021. Within the annex, a large number of larger ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems in seven countries are monitored and analyzed from a long-term performance perspective. By the end of 2019, 40 GSHP performance-monitoring case studies, located in Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, Finland, Germany, Norway and the USA, form part of the Annex 52 work. These case studies cover a range of building types, system applications and ground sources. Annex 52 offers unique experience and information on GSHP system performance, which will result in guidance on instrumentation, monitoring, uncertainty analysis, data analytics, performance analysis and suitable performance indices based on international experience. This paper gives an overview of Annex 52, including the active monitoring projects and the work and findings so far.Peer reviewedMechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Модернизация оборудования и автоматизация процесса обработки алмазов

Материалы VIII Междунар. науч.-техн. конф. студентов, магистрантов и молодых ученых, Гомель, 28–29 апр. 2008

Three years’ performance monitoring of a mixed-use ground source heat pump system in Stockholm

The student center, Studenthuset, at Stockholm University in Stockholm, completed in the fall of 2013, is a thoroughly instrumented mixed-use 6300 m2 four-story building. Space heating and hot water are provided by a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system consisting of five 40 kW off-the-shelf water-to-water heat pumps connected to 20 boreholes in hard rock, drilled to a depth of 200 m. Space cooling is provided by direct cooling from the boreholes. The Studenthuset building monitoring project is part of the IEA HPT Annex 52 – Long-term performance measurement of GSHP systems serving commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings. This paper presents results from three years of measured performance data to calculate the long-term performance of the Studenthuset GSHP system. A number of performance indices are calculated and presented to describe the short-term and long-term system performance for selected system boundaries. Seasonal, monthly and binned performance coefficients for both heating and cooling operation are presented and discussed. The Legionella protection system, hot water continuous circulation system, and internal heating/cooling distribution system reduce the system energy performance.Peer reviewedMechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Long-term GSHP system performance measurement in the USA and Europe

This paper presents an overview of the International Energy Agency (IEA) technology collaboration program Heat Pumping Technologies (HPT) Annex 52, "Long term performance measurement of ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems serving commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings." This project, which ran from 2018 through 2021, focused on measuring the performance of larger GSHP systems, going beyond energy use intensities which commingle the performance of the building envelope, occupancy effects and the system performance. Instead, performance factors were calculated, similar to coefficients of performance, but measured over various time intervals and system boundaries. The primary objectives of the Annex were refining and extending methodologies to better characterize system performance in larger buildings, creating a library of quality long-term measurements in the form of case studies, and providing guidelines for instrumentation, uncertainty analysis, key performance indicators, data management and quality assurance.This paper summarizes the Annex outcome and illustrates use of the Annex boundary levels with a comparison between typical European and US GSHP systems. It is anticipated that this experience and the guidelines produced as a result of this experience will lower the cost and improve consistency and quality for future performance measurements

Use of cross g-functions to calculate interference between ground heat exchangers used in ground-source heat pump systems

Ground-source heat pump systems are increasingly popular for providing single-family home heating in Nordic countries. As the density of installations increase, questions sometimes arise as to the influence of new systems on existing systems. These questions cannot be readily answered, as design and simulation techniques developed over the last 35 years have focused on analysis of individual systems without regard to the influences of other systems.Response factor models of ground heat exchangers utilize pre-computed response functions known as g-functions. These g-functions give the response of the ground heat exchanger (non-dimensionalized temperature) to the past and current heat rejection or extraction of the ground heat exchanger. We might call this a “self-g-function.”In this paper, we define a “cross g-function” that gives the response of one ground heat exchanger to heat rejection or extraction of another ground heat exchanger. With this formulation, it is possible to determine the impact of a neighboring ground heat exchanger with a different load profile and history. This has many possible applications, but we demonstrate its use to study the sensitivity of nearby residential ground heat exchangers upon one another.Peer reviewedMechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Efficiency of closed loop geothermal heat pumps: A sensitivity analysis

Geothermal heat pumps are becoming more and more popular as the price of fossil fuels is increasing and a strong reduction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions is needed. The energy performances of these plants are closely related to the thermal and hydrogeological properties of the soil, but a proper design and installation also plays a crucial role. A set of flow and heat transport simulations has been run to evaluate the impact of different parameters on the operation of a GHSP. It is demonstrated that the BHE length is the most influential factor, that the heat carrier fluid also plays a fundamental role, and that further improvements can be obtained by using pipe spacers and highly conductive grouts. On the other hand, if the physical properties of the soil are not surveyed properly, they represent a strong factor of uncertainty when modelling the operation of these plants. The thermal conductivity of the soil has a prevailing importance and should be determined with in-situ tests (TRT), rather than assigning values from literature. When groundwater flow is present, the advection should also be considered, due to its positive effect on the performances of BHEs; by contrast, as little is currently known about thermal dispersion, relying on this transport mechanism can lead to an excessively optimistic desig

Thermal Response Testing of Large Diameter Energy Piles

Energy piles are a novel form of ground heat exchanger (GHE) used in ground source heat pump systems. However, characterizing the pile and ground thermal properties is more challenging than for traditional GHEs. Routine in-situ thermal response testing (TRT) methods assume that steady state conditions in the GHE are achieved within a few hours, whereas larger diameter energy piles may take days or even weeks, thereby incurring significant costs. Previous work on pile TRTs has focused on small diameters up to 450 mm. This paper makes the first rigorous assessment of TRT methods for larger diameter piles using field and laboratory datasets, the application of numerical and analytical modelling, and detailed consideration of costs and program. Three-dimensional numerical simulation is shown to be effective for assessing the data gathered but is too computationally expensive for routine practice. Simpler fast run time steady state analytical models are shown to be a theoretically viable tool where sufficient duration test data is available. However, a new assessment of signal to noise ratio (SNR) in real field data shows how power fluctuations cause increased uncertainty in long duration tests. It is therefore recommended to apply transient models or instead to carry out faster and more cost-effective borehole in-situ tests for ground characterization with analytical approaches for pile characterization