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.

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Helen Duffy's analysis of international law and practice in relation to terrorism and counter-terrorism provides a framework for analysing the lawfulness of the many legislative, policy and judicial developments which have proliferated since 9/11. Among the many specific issues she addresses are targeted killings and the death of Osama bin Laden, detentions (including Guantanamo Bay), sanctions regimes, surveillance, extraordinary renditions, the prohibition on 'association' or 'support' for terrorism and the evolving preventive role of criminal law. She also considers the unfolding responses to political and judicial wrongs committed in the war on terror, such as the impact of the courts on human rights protection. While exploring areas of controversy, uncertainty and flux, she questions post-9/11 allegations of gaping holes, inadequacies or transformation in the international legal order and concludes by highlighting characteristics of the 'war on terror' and questioning its longer term implications.

Strategic human rights litigation (SHRL) is a growing area of international practice yet one that remains relatively under-explored. Around the globe, advocates increasingly resort to national, regional and international courts and bodies ‘strategically’ to protect and advance human rights. This book provides a framework for understanding SHRL and its contribution to various forms of personal, legal, social, political and cultural change, as well as the many tensions and challenges it gives rise to. It suggests a reframing of how we view the impact of SHRL in its multiple dimensions, both positive and negative. Five detailed case studies, drawn predominantly from the author’s own experience, explore litigation in a broad range of contexts (genocide in Guatemala; slavery in Niger; forced disappearance in Argentina; torture and detention in the ‘war on terror’; and Palestinian land rights) to reveal the complexity of the role of SHRL in the real world. Ultimately, this book considers how impact analysis might influence the development of more effective litigation strategies in the future.

This article reflects on the proliferation of responses to the so-called phenomenon of “foreign terrorist fighters,” and the profound human rights challenges they give rise to. It considers national, regional and international developments, many spurred by an activist Security Council, through which expanded powers have been assumed and rights restricted by reference to the need to respond to ftf threats. A series of uncomfortable relationships emerge from this analysis. They include for example tensions: between the evolving and still relatively superficial understanding of the nature and source of uncertain threats and contributing factors on the one hand, and the onerous and far-reaching nature of responses directed against them on the other; between the expansive use of coercive measures including criminal law, and basic constraining principles of criminal law upon which its legitimacy and power depends, such as individual culpability, harm principle and remoteness; or between the original purposes of most ftf measures and their impact in practice, on the operation of humanitarian law, on humanitarian workers and human rights defenders, and on the rule of law. Exceptional ftf measures continue to spread their reach and creep into other areas of security and organised crime. The article highlights the need to consider the short and long term impact, on the full range of rights of many, of the array of administrative, criminal and other measures being passed into law and implemented in practice across the globe in the name of responding to the ill-defined phenomenon of “ftfs”.