Terrorism and International Law Law Essay Research

TERRORISM AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
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Terrorism and International Law
Question 1
Terrorism is calculated violence in which perpetrators instill fear to the population under attack. It is a common practice by political organizations that started with a political objective over the years. Terrorists generate great fear to attract and maintain publicity by engaging in dramatic, violent and high profile attacks such as kidnapping, mass shooting, frequent use of suicide bombs and hostage-takings The location and victims of terror attacks are, however, keenly selected by terrorists who stage their strike at the least expected times. Shopping malls, schools, bus and train stations, nightclubs, and restaurants are target locations due to their attraction to civilian crowds. There different types of terrorists; dissent, criminal, and pathological terrorists. Dissent terrorists rebel against the government, while criminal terrorist aid in crime for illegal benefits. On the other hand, pathological terrorists are practices utilized by an individual for their sheer joy other than a group.[Arnold, Roberta. "Terrorism, war crimes and the International Criminal Court." In Research Handbook on International Law and Terrorism. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020.] [Ibd I]
The International Criminal Court, under the Rome statute, has no authority to prosecute terror criminals and terrorism as distinct crimes. The situation is not accidental, but an expression of the majority states’ wishes during the Rome conference. In the conference, most states rejected the inclusion of terror crimes in the statute and limited the ICC from prosecuting any terrorism cases. The members present during the convention defined terrorism in three ways. First, they described any acts that constitute terrorism under a standalone definition that the provisions gave. Secondly, they identified terror crime under six pre-existing offenses listed in the international counter for terror crimes. Lastly, they defined terrorism as an offense involving the use of firearms, explosives, weapons, and lethal substances against targeted civilians. However, the provision was rejected by all the attendant states at the conference.[Ibd II]
The ICC is an international criminal law court concerned with the investigation, trial, and prosecution of serious crimes of great concern to the international community. Most of the offenses handled by the ICC include crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes. International Criminal Court cannot prosecute terrorism or any form of terror attack under Article 8 of their statute. Part 3 of the article supports the prosecution of terrorism as a war crime whose definition is distinct from terrorism. Besides, prosecuting terrorism in ICC is likely to create more rebellion as terrorism is different from genocide and other crimes against humanity.[Ibd III]
Inclusion of terrorism jurisdiction on the Rome statute faced several limitations making it invalid to prosecute terror crimes and criminals in the International Criminal Court. Article 1, under the Rome Statute states that the ICC can only exercise jurisdiction only on the most serious crimes that attract international concern. Moreover, the 5th Article under Rome Statute outlines the crimes that can be prosecuted by the ICC and which do not include terror crimes. The principle of complementarity also provides limited jurisdiction on terrorism cases to avoid overburdening the ICC on investigations. The authority of terrorism should remain within national courts because they have more direct access to human resources and evidence from the crime zones.[Arnold, Roberta. "Terrorism, war crimes and the International Criminal Court." In Research Handbook on International Law and Terrorism. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020.]
Terrorism cannot be prosecuted in the ICC as a specific grave termination of the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) under Article 8 Section 2(a) of the ICC statute. The reason is neither the GC IV nor the first protocol provides basis for the 8th Article of Chapter 2(a) of the statute. At their best, terrorism can be prosecuted as non-specific grave termination of the law if the features of the case meet the constituents of the grave breach. Elements of grave violation include willful murdering, taking hostages, illegal incarceration, torture, and inhumane treatment. Also, extensive destruction of property, deportation, and intentional killing may be treated as a grave breach in the ICC statute. The term terrorism lacked a clear definition in the Rome Statute, making it more irrelevant for prosecution in the International Criminal Court. Due to failure to reach a consensus during the Rome convention on the legal definition of terrorism, the international legal community had to adopt a piecemeal way to address sub-forms of terror crimes.[Ibd I] [Ibd II]
Incorporating terrorism counter-attack in the Rome statute may not be self-serving to ICC, which is still a young institution. It is evolving in trying to prove its legitimacy and credibility. It also struggles with alleged claims of being the ‘African Court’ and the humiliating reality check of its limited powers, as depicted in their non-enforced warrant in Al-Bashir’s arrest. Therefore, giving them powers to rule on terror cases may not help in strengthening their reputation and international status. Finally, due to the failure to reach a consensus during the Rome convention on the legal definition of terrorism, the international legal community had to adopt a piecemeal way to address sub-forms of terror crimes.
Question 2
Extraordinary rendition is a procedure carried out by governments to abduct and illegally transfer people to different countries. Its other name is irregular rendition or forced rendition. The aim is to circumvent their former state law by interrogation, torture, and detention. The rendition’s first application was...