Terrorism And International Law

This newly revised and updated second edition provides a comprehensive overview of international counter-terrorism law and practice. Brand new and revised chapters provide critical commentary on the law from leading scholars and practitioners in the field, including new topics for this edition such as foreign terrorist fighters, the nexus between organized crime and terrorism, and the prevention of violent extremism.

This book examines the attempts by the international community and the United Nations to define and criminalise terrorism. In doing so, it explores the difficult legal, ethical and philosophical questions involved in deciding when political violence is, or is not, permissible.

The proliferation in terrorist activity has provoked an increase in the body of law, both at national and international level, which has sought to counter and prevent it. The bodies involved in this process range from the UN Security Council to government legislatures. This book is the first to address, in one volume, the wide variety of responses to terrorism as they exist in both international and domestic contexts. It also represents the first ever comprehensive collection of documents referring to terrorism which are to be found in the laws of the UK and France as well as in international law. Terrorism and International Law comprises contributions by thirteen well-known authorities in the areas of international, French and UK law, and is divided into four main sections: international cooperation against terrorism, the French and British responses to terrorism, the limits of state action and a documentary supplement. The contributors have sought to show how international and domestic law can be used together to combat the multi-faceted problems which terrorism raises. The issue of human rights is also discussed with particular reference to the jurisprudence of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights. The fourth documentary section of the book provides coverage of international treaties, UN resolutions, UK and French legislation, case-law and official statements relating to terrorism. This book provides an invaluable source of commentary and reference material in the area of terrorism and international and domestic law which will be useful for practitioners, diplomats, students and teachers.

Papers originally presented in a conference held at the Catholic University, Milan, on 10-11 May 2002.

Government responses to terrorism can conflict with the protection of human rights and the rule of law. By comprehensively looking at all aspects of counter-terrorism measures from a comparative perspective, this book identifies best practices and makes clear recommendations for the future.

The events of 11 September 2001 have led to significant developments in international law with respect to combating terrorism by military and non-military action. The volume addresses the issues raised in a comprehensive manner. It comprises country-reports with analyses of the developments in a number of selected countries. Based on these country-reports the volume traces new developments in the definition of international terrorism, deals with the issue of human rights protection under new anti-terrorist legislation and examines the recent developments towards international military action against terrorism.

The acts of lawlessness committed on September 11, 2001 were followed by a 'war on terror'. This book sets out the essential features of the international legal framework against which the '9/11' attacks and the lawfulness of measures taken in response thereto fall to be assessed. It addresses, in an accessible manner, relevant law in relation to: 'terrorism', questions as to 'responsibility' for it, the criminal law framework, lawful constraints on the use of force, the humanitarian law that governs in armed conflict, and international human rights law. It indicates the existence of a legal framework capable of addressing events such as '9/11' and governing responses thereto. The author examines the compatibility of the 'war on terror' with this legal framework, and questions the implications for states responsible for violations, for third states and for the international rule of law.

This book analyzes the legality of the use of force by the US, the UK and their NATO allies against Afghanistan in 2001. The work challenges the main ground for resorting to force, namely, self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations' Charter, by examining each element of Article 51 that ought to have been satisfied in order to legitimise the use of force. It also examines the wider context, including comparable Security Council resolutions in historic situations as well as modern instances where force has been used, such as against Iraq in 2003 and against Lebanon in 2006. As well as making the case against the legality of the use of force, the book addresses wider questions such as the meaning of 'terrorism' in international law, the changing nature of conflict in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries including the impact of non-state actors and an overview of terrorism trends as well as the evolution of limitations on the resort to force from the League of Nations through to 2001. The book concludes with some insight into the possible future implications for the use of force by states, particularly when force is purportedly justified on the grounds of self-defence.