Terrorism and Anti-Terror Legislation: The Terrorised Legislator?

How have different governments dealt with terrorism in the past? How has the law developed after September 11, 2001? Which lessons can be learned? What can we expect in the future? This book deals with terrorism, both the legislative reactions to it and its impact on human rights. It is argued that the preservation of human rights is vital for the prevention of terrorism, encompassing State and non-State terrorism alike. Further, the study shows that legislators tend to disregard fundamental human rights when confronted with terrorism. They are "terrorized" themselves by the incident and they risk overreaction. The book provides an historical account of selected (pseudo-?) terrorist movements throughout time and space, which is followed by an inventory of anti-terror legislation in four European countries within the last 40 years. In this context, the author examines the role of the judiciary with a special focus on the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. As a result, the reader gets a complex view on what happened with regard to terrorism and anti-terrorism in different European countries in the past, what is happening at present, and what this means for human rights. This allows contemporary anti-terror legislation to be viewed in its proper perspective.