This course calls upon students to contemplate the line of legality of counter-terrorism efforts. In other words, students should understand the necessity of counter-terrorism to help uphold human rights, but that unfettered counter-terrorism undermines human rights itself. Through the study of specific cases in the context of counter-terrorism, students will also understand that there is constantly a necessity to balance competing demands to uphold the principles of democracy and rule of law.
Skills and general competence:
Students write a final paper instead of exam. Students read actual cases from the European Court of Human Rights, the Human Rights Committee, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and national courts. They analyze international instruments on counter-terrorism and the fundamental human rights treaties. They are able to explain the ethical and legal dilemmas arising from the phenomenon of the “War on Terror”: use of force in counter-terrorist operations (use of drones), preventive actions (search, surveillance, censorship), extraordinary rendition, the prohibition on torture, detention, and prosecution not accordance with international standards. They are able to explain the trans-systemic institutional structure addressing counter-terrorism. Students should be able to apply this knowledge within jobs in the Ministry of Justice, police, intelligence agencies, and law firms.
Required Readings: Textbook
- Helen Duffy, “The War on Terror and the Framework of International Law”, 2nd Edition (Cambridge 2015)
Instruments for Reference:
- UN Security Council Resolution 1373
- https://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/terrorism/res_1373_english.pdf
- Inter American Convention Against Terrorism: http://oas.org/xxxiiga/english/docs_en/docs_items/AGres1840_02.htm
- OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism: https://au.int/en/treaties/oau-convention-prevention-and-combating-terrorism
- EU Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism: https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/090
- SAARC Convention: http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/southasia/documents/papers/SAARC%20Regional%20Convention%20on%20suppression%20of%20Terrorism.htm
- Additional Protocol to SAARC: https://www.jus.uio.no/english/services/library/treaties/04/4-02/prot-suppression-terrorism.xml
- OIC Convention on Combatting Terrorism: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3de5e6646.html
- The Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism: http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3de5e4984.pdf
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx
- UN Security Council Resolution 1624 (2005):
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 3 http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Arts. 4 & 5 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Arts. 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12. 14-16, & 19 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx
- General Comment 10 on the Freedom of Expression, HRC (1983) https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Opinion/CCPRGeneralCommentNo10.pdf
- General Comment 29 on States of Emergency, HRC (2001) http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/gencomm/hrc29.html
- Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation of Provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/siracusaprinciples.html
- Paris Minimum Standards of Human Rights Norms in a State of Emergency https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/jus/humanrights/HUMR5503/h09/undervisningsmateriale/ParisMinimumStandards.pdf
- Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism; http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/196.htm
- UN Convention Against Torture, Articles 1 & 3: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx
- ICCPR, Art. 7 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx
- ICCPR General Comment 20 on Torture http://www.refworld.org/docid/453883fb0.html
- UN Convention Against Torture, Articles 1 & 3: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx
- CAT General Comment 1 on Implementation of Article 3: http://www.refworld.org/docid/453882365.html
- International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999): http://www.un.org/law/cod/finterr.htm
- UNSCRs 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015), 2405, 2419 (2018) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), AlQaida,and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities:
- Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations 5, 6 and 8, and corresponding interpretative notes: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfrecommendations/documents/fatf-action-on-terrorist-finance.html
- UN Security Council Resolution 2170 (2014): http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/doc/2170
- UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014):
- OSCR Guidelines: https://www.osce.org/odihr/393503?download=true
- The Hague Marrakech Memorandum: https://www.thegctf.org/documents/10162/140201/14Sept19_The+Hague-Marrakech+FTF+Memorandum.pdf
Optional Resources:
- UN Action to counter terrorism http://www.un.org/terrorism
- UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee: http://www.un.org/en/sc/ctc/index.html
- The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF): http://www.un.org/en/terrorism/ctitf/index.shtml
- UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT): http://www.un.org/en/terrorism/ctitf/uncct/index.shtml
- UN Secretary General Action Plan to Counter Extremism: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/70/674
- EU on counter-terrorism: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/fight-against-terrorism?lang=en
- EU Strategy : http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/fight-against-terrorism/eu-strategy?lang=en
- European Court of Human Rights Factsheet on Terrorism and the European Convention on Human Rights: https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Terrorism_ENG.pdf
- African Union and Counter-Terrorism
- http://www.peaceau.org/en/page/64-counter-terrorism-ct
- OAS and counter-terrorism: http://www.oas.org/consejo/cajp/human%20rights.asp#terrorism
- UN Website: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Terrorism/Pages/SRTerrorismIndex.aspx
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism, Fact Sheet No. 32.
- http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Factsheet32EN.pdf
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Terrorism/Pages/SRTerrorismIndex.aspx
- Inter-American Commission of Human Rights Report: http://www.cidh.org/Terrorism/Eng/toc.htm
- Council of Europe Guidelines on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism: http://www.coe.int/t/dlapil/cahdi/Source/Docs2002/H_2002_4E.pdf
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Report on 'Alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe member states', of 22 January 2006
- http://assembly.coe.int/CommitteeDocs/2006/20060124_Jdoc032006_E.pdf
- AU Report on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism:
- http://www.achpr.org/mechanisms/human-rights-defenders/Principles-Gudelines/
- UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions (29 pp): http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/14session/A.HRC.14.24.Add6.pdf
Optional Reports:
- Amnesty International Report Dangerously Disproportionate:https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur01/5342/2017/en/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur01/5342/2017/en/
- Open Society Report on the UK’s Prevent Counter- Extremism Strategy, available at: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/eroding-trust-uk-s-prevent-counter-extremism-strategy-health-and-educatio
- ACLU Report on Detainee Treatment: http://www.aclu.org/accountability/released.html The Report of the Constitution Task Force on Detainee treatment: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/04/16/world/16torture-report.html?ref=world
- US DOJ White Paper 2011 (16 pp): https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/602342-draft-whitepaper.html
- Report on American Psychological Association and Interrogation: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/01/us/document-report.html
- Torture Memo: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/international/24MEMO-GUIDE.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=torture%2520memos&st=cse
- Globalizing Torture: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/globalizing-torture-cia-secret-detention-and-extraordinary-rendition
- International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic at Stanford Law School and Global Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law, ‘Living Under Drones: Death, Injury, and Trauma to Civilians from US Drone Practices in Pakistan’ (September 2012), (chapters 1, 3 and 4 of the report): http://www.livingunderdrones.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Stanford-NYU-Living-UnderDrones.pdf;
- Joint Letter to the UN Human Rights Council on Targeted Killings and the Use of Armed Drones, September 2014: https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/09/18/joint-letter-un-human-rights-council-targeted-killings-and-use-armed-drone
- ICCT Report Towards a European Position on Drones: https://icct.nl/publication/towards-a-european-position-on-the-use-of-armed-drones-a-human-rights-approach/
- Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (2014), “Foreign Fighters Under International Law”. Academy Briefing No. 7. Geneva, Switzerland. https://www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/Publications/Academy%20Briefings/Foreign%20Fighters_2015_WEB.pdf
Optional Articles:
- Amal Clooney: The right to insult in International Law http://hrlr.law.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/Clooney-Webb.pdf
- Stuart Casey-Maslen, Pandora’s box? Drone strikes under jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and international human rights law, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 886, 2012, pp. 597-625 (29 pp): https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/review/2012/irrc-886-casey-maslen.pdf
- Ilias Bantekas, The international law on terrorist financing, chapter 7, Research Handbook on International Law and Terrorism, 2014, pp. 121 – 135: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/12937/1/terrorist%20financing%20Edward%2 0Elgar%20Research%20handbook.doc
- Lomell, H. M. (2012). Punishing the uncommitted crime: prevention, pre-emption, precaution and the transformation of criminal law. In: B. Hudson and S. Ugelvik (ed.), Justice and Security in the 21st Century: Risks, Rights and the Rule of Law (pp. 83-100). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. http://www.tandfebooks.com/ISBN/9780203125588
- Stern, J. & Wiener, J. B. (2006). Precaution Against Terrorism. In: Journal of Risk Research, 9(4), pp. 393-447. http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2477&context=faculty_scholarship&seiredir=1%20-%20search=%22Stern%20Precaution%20Against%20Terrorism%22
- Günther, Klaus (2013): Responsibility to Protect and Preventive Justice. In: Prevention and the Limits of the Criminal Law. Ed. By Andrew Ashworth, Lucia Zedner and Patrick Tomlin. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656769.001.0001/acprof-9780199656769-chapter-5
- "Foreign fighters, terrorists and deprivation of citizenship"
- Leslie Esbrook, CITIZENSHIP UNMOORED: EXPATRIATION AS A COUNTER-TERRORISM TOOL https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jil/vol37/iss4/4/
- ICCT paper on stripping of citizenship: https://icct.nl/publication/countering-terrorism-through-the-stripping-of-citizenship-ineffective-and-counterproductive/
Optional Articles and Reports:
- NO: Rapport fra 22. juli-kommisjonen (NOU 2012: 14) https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/nou-2012-14/id697260
- EN: 22 July Commission’s report (English extract):https://www.hsdl.org/c/the-22-of-july-commission-releases-final-report-on-norwegian-terrorist-attack/
- 9/11 Commission Report, ch 11https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf
- Could 7/7 have been Prevented? Review of the Intelligence on the London Terrorist Attacks on 7 July 2005 https://fas.org/irp/world/uk/july7review.pdf
- Report on the intelligence relating to the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby http://isc.independent.gov.uk/committee-reports/special-reports
Cases, Presented in Voluntary Oral Presentations:
- Goiboru v. Paraguay, IACTHR(2006) http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_153_ing.pdf Finogenov and others v. Russia (ECTHR 2012) http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-108231#{"itemid":["001-108231"]}
- Isayeva, Yusopeva and Bazayeva v. Russia (ECTHR 2002) http://www.refworld.org/docid/3e4bcdb14.html
- McCann v. UK (ECTHR http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-57943#{"itemid":["001-57943"]}
- Guerrero v. Colombia (UN Human Rights Committee 1982) http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/undocs/session37/11-45.htm
- Surek v. Turkey (ECTHR 1999) https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{"appno":["26682/95"]}
- Klass and others v. Germany (ECTHR 1978) http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-57510#{"itemid":["001-57510"]}
- Ireland v. UK, ECHR https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{"itemid":["001-57506"]}
- CAT Agiza Case: http://www.bayefsky.com/pdf/sweden_t5_cat_233_2003.pdf
- ECtHR, El Masri v. Macedonia: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001115621#{"itemid":["001-115621"]}
- Nada v. Switzerland, European Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber, 12 September 2012: https://www.law.umich.edu/facultyhome/drwcasebook/Documents/Documents/14.7_CASE%20OF%20NADA%20v.%20SWITZERLAND.pdf
- Commission and Others v Kadi, Court of Justice of the European Union, Grand Chamber, 18. July 2013: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-584/10&language=en
- Kadi II: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=139745&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=1914364
- Al-Dulimi and Montana Managment v. Switzerland, European Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber, 21. June 2016: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{"itemid":["001-138563"]}
- CJEU judgment of 8 April 2014 in Jointed Cases C‑293/12 and C‑594/12, Digital Rights Ireland, Seitlinger and others. http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-293/12
- ECtHR judgment of 2 Sept 2010 in Uzun v Germany (application no. 35623/05). http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001100293#{"itemid":["001-100293"]}