Legal Responses To Terrorism

ŠA deep and thoughtful exploration of counter-terrorism written by leading commentators from around the globe. This book poses critical questions about the definition of terrorism, the role of human rights and the push by many governments for more secu

View or download the 2011 Online Supplement for this product. The Second Edition of this book deals with many developments occasioned by the so-called "war on terror" of the last few years. It provides the bases for using the legal tools available for combating terrorism (prosecution, intelligence, and military action) while addressing the limits that ought to be applied to each of those within the framework of the rule of law. This edition necessarily deals with unauthorized surveillance, the torture controversy, targeted killings, and military detentions. To advance the rule of law while promoting security of the populace, the book addresses these areas: Investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of alleged terrorism incidents, extraterritorial enforcement of U.S. law, and prosecution of material support for terrorism; Development of the international law of war and international criminal law as they might apply in both prosecution and defense of alleged terrorists; The need of government for information with all that need implies: intelligence gathering, surveillance, controls on interrogation techniques, government secrecy, ethnic profiling, rights of privacy, and civil liberties; and Military and executive detentions without trial and the operation of military tribunals. The book concludes with opinions from the Supreme Court of Israel, the U.K. House of Lords, and the Supreme Court of Canada that focus explicitly on claims for emergency power to derogate civil liberties. This book also is available in a three-hole punched, alternative loose-leaf version printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with wider margins and with the same pagination as the hardbound book.

For the past four decades, the United States was victimized by both domestic and international terrorism. The September 11, 2001 brutal attacks were the most devastating terrorist acts ever recorded in history. The United States federal legal responses to the challenge of terrorism constitute a substantial and far ranging body of statutory law. The materials included in this volume are the most important laws that concern the threat of terrorism. Many of these laws are part of the general criminal and civil laws of the United States and apply to various forms of criminal and civil activity, including, but not limited, to terrorism. The book also incorporated the latest legislation, the U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001, signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. Terrorism-related topics include aliens and nationality; armed forces; crimes and criminal procedure; aviation; biological and chemical weapons; foreign relations, antiterrorism assistance, diplomatic security, judiciary and judicial procedure; shipping; transportation; and war and national defense.

"We are in difficult times for the protection of our liberties. Nonetheless, citizens are showing an increased willingness to resist the erosion of the U.S. Constitution. . . . Lawson Mack and Kelly stress the importance of not giving up these fundamental rights and conclude with a message of optimism, noting an increased backlash against the administration's more draconian measures. Although the landscape is still quite bleak, change is in the air." -Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights, from the foreword "A compelling and sophisticated critique of the U.S. government's post-9/11 actions. Mack and Kelly set the stage with the historical perspective on America's response to terrorism and the assessment of terrorist threats, before launching into a comprehensive analysis of the USA Patriot Act. Their hard-hitting approach and easy-to-read style makes for a fascinating treatment of the government's legislative and executive response to the attacks." -Michael P. Scharf, Case Western Reserve University School of Law With its sweeping critique of the USA Patriot Act and the Bush administration's maneuvers in pursuit of terrorists, Equal Justice in the Balance is a sobering and exacting look at American legal responses to terrorism, both before and after 9/11. The authors detail wide-ranging and persuasive evidence that American antiterrorism legislation has led to serious infringements of our civil rights. They show us how deviations from our fundamental principles of fairness and justice in times of heightened national anxiety-whether the Red Scare, World War II, or the War on Terrorism-have resulted in overreaction and excess, later requiring apologies and reparations to those victimized by a paranoia-driven justice system. While terrorist attacks-especially on a large scale and on American soil-damage our national pride and sense of security, the authors offer powerful arguments for why we must allow our judicial infrastructure, imperfect as it is, to respond without undue interference from the politics of anger and vengeance.

How can we ensure national security against people unafraid to kill themselves along with their victims - people who, self-evidently, will not be deterred by traditional laws which punish offenders after their crimes are committed. This is the challenge for liberal democracies such as Australia. New laws specifically designed to forestall terrorist activity have been a key response. Law and Liberty in the War on Terror describes these laws and debates both their effectiveness and impact on civil liberties. International and domestic commentators from the fields of government, law and political science address questions such as: How does the law define 'terrorism'? Can the criminal justice system accommodate preparatory terrorism offences? Is torture ever acceptable as an interrogative method? What is the role of the judiciary in times of emergency? How do Australia's anti-terrorism laws compare with those of the United Kingdom and New Zealand? How are Australian communities and politics affected by responses to terrorism?"[I] n this book, proponents of the new anti-terrorism laws seek to justify their provisions and opponents argue that the laws go too far. These chapters also show the extent of the changes that have been made to our legal and administrative structures. ... The chapters in this book cannot be dismissed as mere academic analyses. They have to do with the lives and aspirations of all Australians. They ask whether Australia is, and whether it will be, a united, secure, free and confident nation." - Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE, former Chief Justice of Australia

Acknowledgements -- Introduction and legal context -- Key components of an effective criminal justice response to terrorism -- Criminal justice accountability and oversight mechanisms

In democratic states, the courts can help safeguard civil liberties against excessive legislative and executive efforts to combat terrorism

Terrorism has become one of the major threats facing both states and the international community, in particular after the terrorist attacks in the United States, Madrid and London, which revealed a whole new scale and dimension of the phenomenon. An effective response is absolutely necessary; this response, however, cannot undermine democracy, human rights, the rule of law or the supreme values inherent to these principles.There is no universally agreed definition of "terrorism", nor is there an international Jurisdiction before which the perpetrators of terrorist crimes can be brought to account. The European Court of Human Rights is the first international Jurisdiction to deal with such a phenomenon. For many decades and through more than four hundred cases, it has elaborated a clear, integrated and articulated body of case law on responses to terrorism from a human rights and rule of law perspective. Thus, this is a handbook on counter-terrorism with a special focus on due respect for human rights and rule of law.This book compiles the doctrine laid down by the European Court of Human Rights in this field with a view to facilitating the task of adjudicators, legal officers, lawyers, international IGOs, NGOs, policy makers, researchers, victims and all those committed to fighting this scourge. The book presents a careful analysis of this body of case law and the general principles applicable to the fight against terrorism resulting from each particular case. It also includes a compendium of the main cases dealt with by the Strasbourg Court in this field and will prove to be a most useful guiding tool in the sensitive area of counter-terrorism and human rights.

Preventing acts of terrorism remains one of the major tasks of domestic governments and regional and international organisations. Terrorism transcends borders, so anti-terrorism law must cross the boundaries of domestic, regional and international law. It also crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries between administrative, constitutional, criminal, financial, immigration, international and military law, as well as the law of war. This second edition provides a comprehensive resource on how domestic, regional and international responses to terrorism have developed since 2001. Chapters that focus on a particular country or region in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia are complemented by overarching thematic chapters that take a comparative approach to particular aspects of anti-terrorism law and policy.