By ROGAN M. SMITH, Guardian Senior Reporter, rogan@nasguard.com

Parliamentarians are expected to debate amendments to anti-terrorism legislation today when the House of Assembly reconvenes.

The Bahamas passed its anti-terrorism act in 2004, but parliamentarians want to amend the legislation to remove requirements for reciprocity, which allows The Bahamas government to provide foreign governments with information.

According to the bill, the reciprocity provision in the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2004, appears to be inconsistent with The Bahamas' policy regarding international cooperation and the international standards relating to international cooperation to combat terrorism.

The bill also says the current legislation does not make provisions for reciprocity when it comes to The Bahamas cooperating with international investigations, prosecuting individuals for criminal offenses, or combating terrorism.

Some of the proposed amendments include, deleting the Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Act, Chapter 98 reference and substituting it with the Criminal Justice International Cooperation Act, Chapter 105.

The bill also seeks to delete the word 'mutual' because the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act, does not make reference to 'mutual assistance', but rather refers to it as 'a request for assistance'.

The House suspended just before the Independence holiday.

There has been no official response yet as to when the House of Assembly will adjourn, if at all, for the summer break.