The fight against terrorism has two distinct objectives. First, it implies resolving ‘political’ disputes, political in its broadest sense, comprising different areas such as the division between the rich and the poor or the dénouement of religious tensions. Or, to state it even broader: the first objective is to deal with the roots and the causes of terrorism. Secondly, the fight against terrorism means maintaining order at home, so as not to allow terrorists to reach their objective of destroying the core values in our society. Moreover, it allows the government to gain time while the international community works on the first objective. The main prospect in maintaining law and order at home is to put terrorists to trial. Thus criminal law plays an important role in the fight against terrorism.
This paper focuses exclusively on the second objective and its purpose is to survey and compare the legislation related to criminal law and terrorism in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany.
The following chapters are divided into the countries’ experience with terrorism and an overview on their criminal law relevant in the fight against terrorism.
A comparison of the terrorist legislations in these countries will lead to an evaluation of the different approaches and an answer to the question if terrorism should be defined at all in criminal law.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- I INTRODUCTION - THE ROLE OF CRIMINAL LAW IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
- A
- II GERMANY
- A Germany's Experience with Terrorism
- 1 International Terrorism
- 2 Domestic Terrorism - The Red Army Faction
- B Criminal Law Related to Terrorism
- 1 Definition of Terrorism
- 2 Terrorist offences
- III THE UNITED KINGDOM
- A The UK's Experience with Terrorism
- 1 International Terrorism
- 2 The Irish Republican Army
- B Terrorism Provisions in UK's Criminal Law
- 1 The Definition of Terrorism under UK's Criminal Law
- 2 UK's Criminal Law Offences
- 3 The Reversal of Burden of Proof
- 4 The Proscription Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000
- IV CANADA
- A Canada's Experience with Terrorism
- 1 International terrorism
- 2 Domestic terrorism
- B Terrorism Provisions in Canada's Criminal Law
- 1 Definition of Terrorism under Canada's Criminal Law
- 2 Canada's Criminal Law Offences
- 3 Canada's Listing of Terrorist Groups
- 4 Disclosure of Information and the Privilege of Self-Incrimination
- V AUSTRALIA
- A Australia's Experience with Terrorism
- 1 International Terrorism
- 2 Domestic Terrorism
- B Terrorism Provisions in Australia's Criminal Law
- 1 Definition of Terrorism under Australia's Criminal Law
- 2 Australia's Criminal Law Offences
- 3 Reversal of Burden of Proof
- 4 Australia's Proscription of Organization
- VI NEW ZEALAND
- A New Zealand's Experience with Terrorism
- B Terrorism Provisions in New Zealand's Criminal Law
- 1 Definition of Terrorism under New Zealand's Criminal Law
- 2 New Zealand's Criminal Law Offences
- 3 New Zealand's Designation of terrorist entities
- VII COMPARING THE LEGISLATIONS
- 1 The Definitions of Terrorism
- 2 The Criminal Offences
- 3 The Proscription Schemes
- VIII THE PARADOXON OF DEFINING TERRORISM
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines the role of criminal law in combating terrorism, specifically focusing on maintaining order and bringing terrorists to justice. It offers a comparative analysis of legislation related to terrorism and criminal law in five countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany.
- The interplay between criminal law and terrorism.
- The experience of terrorism in each country.
- A comparative analysis of the criminal law provisions related to terrorism in each country.
- The challenges and controversies of defining terrorism in criminal law.
- The various approaches taken by different countries to address terrorism through criminal law.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The paper begins with an introduction that outlines the dual objectives of the fight against terrorism: addressing the roots of the problem and maintaining order. It then delves into the experience of terrorism in each country, examining both international and domestic terrorism.
The paper further explores the specific criminal law provisions related to terrorism in each country, including definitions of terrorism, criminal offences, and the use of proscription powers. This analysis includes a discussion of the potential for reversal of the burden of proof in certain cases. The paper then compares the legislative approaches of the five countries, focusing on the definitions of terrorism, criminal offences, and the proscription schemes employed.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This paper focuses on the interplay between criminal law and terrorism, examining the legislative approaches of various countries. Key terms and concepts include: terrorism, criminal law, comparative analysis, legislation, definitions of terrorism, criminal offences, proscription powers, burden of proof, and the paradox of defining terrorism.
- Citar trabajo
- Frederic Bostedt (Autor), 2003, Criminal Law Legislation in the Fight against Terrorism - Comparing Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Germany, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/72079
