International Terrorism and the Rule of Law: Reflections & Discussions on the EU-US Relationship in the Fight against Terrorism

Terrorism is a complex and widespread global challenge that endangers the international community as a whole. It defies courts, law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, governments, and international organizations alike. The large majority of States agree that international cooperation is critical to combating terrorism. However, effective coordination of international efforts, key to the challenge of effective antiterrorist enforcement measures, remains extremely difficult to set. As major global powers, the European Union and the United States have a crucial role to play in the fight against terrorism. In order to enhance an effective coordination of their efforts and strategies, European and American policy-makers must discuss the current and new challenges of the fight against terrorism in a constructive dialogue in order to offer accurate responses. Such a dialogue must assume that the global response to terrorism should be directed at ensuring the rule of law and human rights. As the former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, asserts “a commitment to uphold respect for human rights and rule of law will be one of the keys to success in countering terrorism – not an impediment blocking our way”.

The goal of this international research project is to outline a coherent and global transatlantic human rights counter-terrorism model. In the frame of the project, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental an Human Rights (LBI-GMR) participated 2009 in events of its partner organizations in New York (The Courts and Terrorism: Transatlantic Observations, April), Paris (Vers une Internationalisation du Jugement des Actes de Terrorisme International?, July) and Brussels (Towards a Global Legal Counterterrorism Model: Transatlantic Perspectives, December). Furthermore the publication on the expert seminar “Extraordinary rendition flights and the protection of human rights” (September 2008, organized by LBI-GMR) has been finalized.