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European Conference of Technology and Society eurotecs’13 Proceedings June 27 - 28, 2013 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Year 1, No. 1 (2013) ISSN 2303-4580 International University of Sarajevo 1 International Research / Expert Conference st

Maja Sahadzic, Terrorism, Towards International Crime or Not

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Page 1: Maja Sahadzic, Terrorism, Towards International Crime or Not

European Conferenceof Technology and Society

eurotecs’13Proceedings

June 27 - 28, 2013Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Year 1, No. 1 (2013)

ISSN 2303-4580

International University of Sarajevo

1 International Research / Expert Conference

st

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TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

JUNE 27-28, 2013

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO

PROCEEDINGS

Editor: Fehim Fındık, Orhan Torkul

Layout: Fuat Kelesoglu

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PREFACE

We are proud to present the ‘Proceedıng Book’ for the 1st European Conference in Technology

and Society (EuroTecS-2013) which were organized by International University of Sarajevo

(IUS), in cooperation with the Sakarya University (http://www.sakarya.edu.tr ) on 27-28 June

2013 at IUS. We had around 150 participants from more than 12 different countries in this

conference.

The aim of this conference was to bring together technological and social research in an

interdisciplinary perspective. The conference was held in a special city with multicultural,

historical background with natural beauties nearby and EuroTecS offers a rich social program.

MajorScientificAreasare: · TechnologyandEngineering

· Society, Politicsand International Relations

· Economicsand Management Science

· Information Management andSociety

· Computing andCommunication

Special Guest was Mr. Nihat Ergun, current Minister of Science, Industry and Technology.

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Selçuk I. Güçeri, currently Bernard Gordon Dean of Engineering at

Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Josef Poeschl is from Vienna Institute for International Economic Studie

In this framework, we are really grateful to all whose supports were with us throughout the

conference strongly. Firstly to Rector Prof. Dr. Ozer Cinar (International University of Sarajevo)

, Rector Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Elmas (Sakarya University), Prof. Dr. Fehim Fındık (IUS FENS

Dean) and Prof. Dr. Orhan Torkul (Sakarya University IE Dept. Chair) for their contribution and

encouragement and then to all members of scientific and organizing committee

With the wishes that the conference became helpful to this discipline and all concerned people in

both national and international level.

Fuat KELESOGLU

Deputy Chairman

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Organisational Committee

Fuat Keleşoğlu

IUS FENS

Deputy Cahirman Of EuroTecS

Asst. Prof. Dr. İhsan Hakan Selvi

SAU Industrial Engineering

Benjamin Durakovic

IUS FENS

Haris Hojkuric

IUS FBA

Ramo Palalic

IUS FBA

Mr. Musa Köse

IUS (Sedef Bosnia Director)

Mr. Osman Gürsoy

IUS (Web and App.Developer)

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PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2

A CASE STUDY FOR THE CAPITALIST PEACE THEORY – CHINA AS A POTENTIAL PLAYER IN

STABILIZING AFGHANISTAN ................................................................................................................................. 6

GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN THE BiH’s LABOR MARKET:CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES ................ 14

THE INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA AND EU ............................... 27

THE IMPACT AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE GREEK FINANCIAL CRISIS TO EU ............................. 32

NECESSITIES AND POSSIBILITIES OF BUILDING AN INLAND CONTAINER TERMINAL IN BOSNIA

AND HERZEGOVINA ............................................................................................................................................... 38

THE NEW DIGITAL GOVERNMENT IN TURKEY AND IN B&H ...................................................................... 42

MASTERING CHANGE ............................................................................................................................................ 50

MULTI-PILLAR PENSION SYSTEM AS ALTERNATIVE PENSION SYSTEM IN BOSNIA AND

HERZEGOVINA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ........................................................................................................... 54

SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY PARK ILIDŽA AS A GENERATOR OF INNOVATION POTENTIAL AND SME’S

DEVELOPMENT IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ........................................................................................... 59

TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA DURING THE BOSNIAN

CONFLICT 1992-1995 ............................................................................................................................................... 65

COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BANKS IN THE GLOBAL

ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................................................................ 71

EDUCATION AS A TOOL OF STATE IDEOLOGY: CREATING ‘GOOD CITIZENS’ THROUGH PRIMARY

SCHOOLS IN TURKEY ............................................................................................................................................ 78

IMPACT OF MICROCREDIT INSTITUTIONS ON POVERTY ON BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ................ 89

IMPORTANCE AND CONTRIBUTION OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES TO ECONOMY OF

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ............................................................................................................................. 101

ECONOMIC DISTURBANCES AND BUSINESS FLUCTUATIONS IN ECONOMY OF BOSNIA AND

HERZEGOVINA – THE ONGOING STORY ......................................................................................................... 109

ECONOMIC- AND POLITICAL STRENGTHENING OF WOMEN (CASE OF KOSOVO) ............................... 115

A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF A CLOUD-BASED CUSTOMER ANALYTICS TOOL FOR RETAIL

SMEs ......................................................................................................................................................................... 121

TODAY, AGING WITH DIGNITY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ............................................................. 129

BOSNIAN AND HERZEGOVINA SOCIETY: REALITY AND FUTURE PROSPECTS .................................... 133

TURKISH-BOSNIAN ECONOMIC RELATIONS INVESTMENTS IN BOSNIAN BANKING SECTOR A CASE

OF TURKISH ZIRAAT BANK ................................................................................................................................ 139

EDUCATION, POVERTY AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ....................... 147

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN EUROPE, ASIA AND AMERICA ................................................................. 158

MACROECONOMIC OUTLOOK AND TRADE OF TURKEY AND THE BALKAN COUNTRIES (2000-2011)

................................................................................................................................................................................... 166

TERRORISM: TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL CRIME, OR NOT? ..................................................................... 181

A SURVEY AND DETERMINANTS OF MOBILE PHONE CONSUMPTION ................................................... 192

THE EFFECT OF MONETARY POLICY AND THE TIMING OF INTEREST RATE MOVEMENT ................ 199

VALUE-AT-RISK (VAR) MODELS APPLICATION IN THE EVALUATION OF EXCHANGE RATE RISK ON

THE EXAMPLE OF SELECTED BANK ................................................................................................................ 209

THE GRAVITY MODEL AND BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA’S TRADE ....................................................... 222

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IMPACT OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS ON THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF BOSNIA AND

HERZEGOVINA: CAN THE ISLAMIC FINANCIAL MODEL HELP? ................................................................ 233

MODERNITY AND TRANSFORMATION OF KNOWLEDGE: FROM VIRTUE AS KNOWLEDGE TO

TECHNOLOGICAL NEUTRALISM ....................................................................................................................... 250

EFFECTS OF FRANCHISING PRESENCE OF USA IN FOREIGN RELATIONS .............................................. 253

BEYOND HISTORY AND CULTURE: TURKEY AND BOSNIA ........................................................................ 265

PERCEPTION OF ONLINE SERVICES IN BANKING AMONG STUDENTS IN BOSNIA AND

HERZEGOVINA ...................................................................................................................................................... 270

SOCIAL NETWORKS AMONG TURKISH STUDENTS AT INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO

................................................................................................................................................................................... 277

TECHNOLOGICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS IN MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION AS

FACTORS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FROM 72 BOSNIAN MUNICIPALITIES . 283

WHAT SHAPES BUSINESS ETHICS? EVIDENCE FROM TURKEY................................................................. 292

QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN LOGISTICS SECTOR: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE ................................... 297

HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ........................................................................................................ 303

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TERRORISM: TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL CRIME, OR NOT?

On definitional rebuses, current incumbency, futile proposals, and vexed

judicial decision towards bottom line without tracing inference

Maja Sahadžić

International Relations Department,International University of Sarajevo

Hrasnička cesta 15,71 000 Sarajevo,Bosnia and Herzegovina

[email protected] , [email protected]

Abstract:

International legal domain in terrorism issues is

trending conformably from conceiving terrorism as

ordinary crime towards positioning terrorism as

international crime. So far, International Criminal

Court has jurisdiction with respect to the genocide,

crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.

Following Netherlands’ proposal on including crime

of terrorism in the Rome Statute of the ICC, in

conclusion, jurisdiction of the ICC in relation to the

crime of terrorism has not been accepted.

Accordingly, crime of terrorism remains more often

handled at national level rather than international.

However, in 2011 the Appeals Chamber of the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon rendered judgment that

included its jurisdiction over the crime of terrorism.

Consequently, the matter of discussion is oriented

towards potential and limitations in positioning

terrorism as international crime; arguments pro and

contra for expanding the International Criminal

Court’s jurisdiction over crime of terrorism; as well as

legal implications, especially intersection of

international and national law with regard to crime of

terrorism.

Keywords: terrorism, international crime,

International Criminal Court, Netherland's proposal,

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Retrospectively, appearance of terrorism dates far

back to the antic times.131

Continually and frequently,

it has been originating resurgence of different legal,

political, and social alterations. In the interim,

terrorism prospectively developed into being part of

daily international agenda. Theory of international

law identifies key determinants of terrorism, e.g.

concept, classification, elements, actors, causes,

motives, goals, methods, instruments, manifestations,

131 On historical perspectives of efforts dealing with international

terrorism please refer to: Dugard, J. (1974), 'International Terrorism: Problems of Definition', International Affairs, vol. 50,

no. 1, pp. 67–81.

effects etc.132

but international community yet lacks

universal and comprehensive definition of terrorism

and same way comprehensive international document

on prevention, punishment and combat terrorism. The

first attempt of defining terrorism in international law

is tied to the 1937 Convention for the Prevention and

Punishment of Terrorism under favor of the League of

Nations that never entered into force. Subsequently,

by auspice of the United Nations, there have existed

different efforts to adopt international documents that

would contain definition of terrorism as well as

defining international legal instruments and

mechanisms for combating terrorism.133

Analogously,

132 On key determinants of terrorism please refer to: Jenkins, B.M.

(1982), 'Statements about Terrorism', Annals of the American

Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 463, pp.11–23; Laqueur, W. (1986), 'Reflections on Terrorism', Foreign Affairs,

vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 86–100; Sahadžić, M. (2009), 'Terorizam u

međunarodnom javnom pravu, ključne odrednice za razumijevanje fenomena terorizma' [Terrorism in international law, key settings in

terrorism phenomenon understanding], Pravna misao, no. 7–8, pp.

85–110. 133 The most important international documents include: 1963

Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on

Board Aircraft – Aircraft Convention; 1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft – Unlawful Seizure

Convention; 1971 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful

Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation – Civil Aviation Convention; 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of

Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons – Diplomatic agents Convention; 1979 International Convention Against the

Taking of Hostages – Hostages Convention; 1980 Convention on

the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material – Nuclear Materials Convention; 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of

Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation,

Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation – Airport Protocol; 1988

Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the

Safety of Maritime Navigation – Maritime Convention with 2005 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts

Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation; 1988 Protocol for the

Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf – Fixed Platform

Protocol; 1991 Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives

for the Purpose of Detection – Plastic Explosives Convention; 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist

Bombings – Terrorist Bombing Convention; 1999 International

Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism – Terrorist Financing Convention; 2005 International Convention for

the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism – Nuclear Terrorism

Convention. At the same time, the United Nations adopted numerous resolutions, mentioning some of the most important:

1992 UN Security Council Resolution 731; 1992 UN Security

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the same situation applies at the regional level.134

Despite these efforts, activities undertaken showed to

be more or less efficient, because they were usually

reduced to definitions that differ from case to case,

taking into account that terrorism relates to individual

norms in international law and, for instance refer to

individual acts of terrorism such as hostage taking,

aircraft hijacking, vessel safety, sabotage, espionage,

use of chemical and biological weapons, etc.135

Council Resolution 748; 1993 UN Security Council Resolution

883; 1988 UN Security Council Resolution 1189; 1999 UN Security Council Resolution 1267; 2000 UN Security Council

Resolution 1333; 2002 UN Security Council Resolution 1390; 2003

UN Security Council Resolution 1455; 2001 UN Security Council Resolution 1368; 2001 UN Security Council Resolution 1373; 2005

UN Security Council Resolution 1624. Some documents from the

same domain might be worth of mentioning: 1994 General Assembly Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism; 1996 Declaration to Supplement the 1994 Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism; 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel; 2000 United Nations Convention

against Transnational Organized Crime; 1972 Measures to Prevent International Terrorism Which Endangers or Takes Innocent

Human Lives or Jeopardizes Fundamental Freedoms, and Study of

the Underlying Causes of Those Forms of Terrorism and Acts of Violence Which Lie in Misery, Frustration, Grievance and Despair

and Which Cause Some People to Sacrifice Human Lives,

Including Their Own, in an Attempt to Effect Radical Changes. In the end, it has to be mentioned that other documents also deal with

terrorism in indirect way: 1949 Geneva Convention (I) for the

Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field; 1949 Geneva Convention (II) for the

Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked

Members of Armed Forces at Sea; 1949 Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War; 1949 Geneva

Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in

Time of War; Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International

Armed Conflicts; 1977 Protocol (II) Additional to the Geneva

Conventions of 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non – International Armed Conflicts; 2005 Protocol (III)

Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and Relating to the

Adoption to an Additional Distinctive Emblem; 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations; 1963 Vienna Convention on

Consular Relations. 134 Some of the regional documents that have been adopted: 1999 Organization of African Union Convention on the Prevention and

Combating of Terrorism) with 2004 Protocol to the Organization of

African Union Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism; 1971 Organization of American States Convention to

Prevent and Punish Acts of Terrorism Taking Form of Crimes

Against Persons and Related Extortion that are of International Significance; 2002 Inter – American Convention Against

Terrorism; 1987 SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of

Terrorism with 2004 Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism; 1998 The Arab

Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism; 1999 Convention of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on Combating

International Terrorism; 1977 European Convention on the

Suppression of Terrorism with 2003 Protocol amending the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism; 2005

Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism;

2005 Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the

Financing of Terrorism. 135 On single types of acts defined and aspects of defining terrorism in international documents please consult: Saul, B. (2008),

Certain authors suggest that “some states have

resisted efforts to define terrorism for more principled

reasons – for instance, because defining terrorism in a

certain way would jeopardize other international

public policy interests such as political freedom,

asylum, or human rights. (…) Having no definition of

terrorism is better than having a definition which

criminalizes legitimate politics or dissolves freedoms”

(Saul, 2012). It turns out to be that definition of

terrorism reflects interests of those who are defining

it, and in most cases is defined by each actor

individually, in its own way. In such a manner, lack

of definition reflects for instance, on terrorist vs.

freedom-fighter dichotomy.

As it would seem, international legal domain in

terrorism issues is trending conformably from

conceiving terrorism as ordinary crime towards

positioning terrorism as international crime136

. So far,

International Criminal Court has jurisdiction with

respect to the genocide, crimes against humanity, war

crimes, and crime of aggression that constitute

international crimes. Even though terrorism does not

constitute discrete crime, just the same, some terrorist

acts might qualify under international crimes, but only

if elements of these crimes are met. Following

Netherlands’ proposal on including crime of terrorism

in the Statute of the ICC, in conclusion, jurisdiction of

the ICC in relation to the crime of terrorism has not

been accepted. Accordingly, crime of terrorism

remains more often handled at national level rather

than international. However, in 2011 the Appeals

Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

rendered judgment that included its jurisdiction over

the crime of terrorism. Owing to the fact that this

judgment is considered highly controversial, it is

disputable whether customary international law

definition of terrorism could exist on its virtue. At this

point there are no satisfactory evidence for this.

Although there is justified rationale behind defining

terrorism, there are still too many variations between

international treaties and national legislation in

addressing this issue, horizontally and vertically

applied. Terrorism might constitute international

'Definition of „Terrorism“ in the UN Security Council: 1985–2004',

Legal Studies Research Paper, no. 08/111, pp. 141–166; Saul, B.

(2008), 'Attempts to Define „Terrorism“ in International Law', Legal Studies Research Paper, no. 08/115, pp. 53–87; Sahadžić, M.

(2010), 'Terorizam u međunarodnom pravu: traži se sveobuhvatna i općeprihvaćena definicija' [Terrorism in international law:

Comprehensive and conventional definition needed], Zbornik

radova Pravnog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Bihaću, no. 1–2/10, pp. 339–358; Sahadžić, M. (2009), 'Pitanje definiranja terorizma u

međunarodnom pravu' [The issue of defining terrorism in

international law], Pregled, no. 2, pp. 149–170. 136 On position of international crimes in general international law

please refer to: Brownlie, I. (2003), Principles of Public

International Law, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 561–564.

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crime if its acts would not be bundled within one state

and if it would concern international community as a

whole. Consequently, the matter of discussion must

be oriented towards potential and limitations in

positioning terrorism as international crime;

arguments pro and contra for expanding the ICC’s

jurisdiction over crime of terrorism; as well as legal

implications, especially intersection of international

and national law with regard to crime of terrorism. On

the strength of this, it will be possible to imply and

signify prospective guidelines and solutions with

respect to given issues.

STATUS OF TERRORISM UNDER THE

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

The International Criminal Court (ICC)137

is the first

permanent international criminal court established to

prosecute perpetrators of the most serious

international crimes. Based on a treaty, it is regulated

through the Statute for the International Criminal

Court. Namely, in July 1998 Diplomatic Conference

of the United Nations adopted Statute for the

International Criminal Court.138

This was final step

toward creating permanent international tribunal, after

World War II processes in Nuremberg and Tokyo,

which would have jurisdiction over the most severe

international crimes. The Statute of the International

Criminal Court came into force on 2 July 2002 after

being ratified by 60 states.139

Anyhow, the

International Criminal Court is not part of the United

Nations system, therefore often referred to be

independent institution.140

The jurisdiction141

of the

Court is limited to the most serious crimes relevant to

international community, referred to as international

crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war

crimes and crime of aggression.142

137 Sometimes abbreviated as ICCt for the purpose of differentiating from other institutions and organizations with the same

abbreviation. 138 Statute of the International Criminal Court (17 July 1998) A/CONF.183/9 (corrected by procès-verbaux of 10 November

1998, 12 July 1999, 30 November 1999, 8 May 2000, 17 January

2001 and 16 January 2002). It entered into force on 1 July 2002. 139 As of 1 May 2013, the International Criminal Court has been

joined by 122 states. For detailed overview on establishment and

chronology of the International Criminal Court please refer to the Statute of the International Criminal Court and Court's official web

site: www.icc-cpi.int. 140 The International Criminal Court and the United Nations signed

the Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the

International Criminal Court on 4 October 2004 that defines relationship between these two institutions. 141 On jurisdiction, admissibility, applicable law, composition of the

Court and other relevant issues of interest in detail, please refer to the Statute of the International Criminal Court. 142 On detailed explanation of international crimes please refer to:

Shaw, M.N., (2008), International Law, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 430–440.

Even though terrorism, along with other criminal acts

of similar nature, has been discussed at the time that

the Statute of the International Criminal Court has

been drafted, it did not get included in a Statute

together with abovementioned crimes. Schaack and

Sly argue that drafters articulated several reasons for

eventually excluding these crimes from the Statute

altogether: (1) terrorism has no universally accepted

definition; (2) terrorism was not considered to be one

of ‘the most serious crimes of international concern’;

(3) at the time, terrorism was not clearly recognized

as a crime under customary international law; (4)

including crimes of terrorism would unnecessarily

politicize the International Criminal Court; and (5)

there are alternative domestic venues for terrorism

prosecutions such that establishing international

jurisdiction would be unnecessary or duplicative

(2008). In contempt of excluding crime of terrorism

from the Statute of the International Criminal Court,

there are immanent considerations that terrorism falls

under jurisdiction of the Court whereas it, to some

extent, corresponds to international crimes included in

the Statute. Taking into consideration fashion of

manifestation of terrorist acts, it might be

considerably important to explore whether they can

constitute acts that are considered to be violations of

the Statute of the International Criminal Court

provisions with regard to genocide, crimes against

humanity, war crimes and crime of aggression. Fiona

de Londras affirms significance of bringing terrorism

under international criminal law in three ways.

Primarily, she argues that there is no need to always

create new types of crimes in response to terrorist

activity as if such activities usually constitute acts that

can be prosecuted under existing legal framework.

Secondly, categorizing terrorist activity under existing

legal framework facilitates apprehension and

prosecution of persons indicted. Thirdly, if state(s) for

any reason fail to prosecute, then the International

Criminal Court may overtake complementary role (de

Londras, 2010). Anyway, even though the

International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over

genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and

crime of aggression, after all, the Court might be able

to prosecute acts of terrorism, if they would fall

within any of these categories. Accordingly, it is

useful to analyze statutory provisions related to

crimes under the International Criminal Court

jurisdiction and acts of terrorism that might fall under

these provisions.

Genocide

In terms of the Statute of the International Criminal

Court, genocide refers to any the acts committed with

intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,

ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing

members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or

mental harm to members of the group; (c)

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Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life

calculated to bring about its physical destruction in

whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to

prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly

transferring children of the group to another group.

For certain act to be considered as genocide, there

must be act of genocide as well as special intent

concurrently included. Therefore there is unlikelihood

that terrorism might fall under genocide provisions in

the Statute. Generality of scholars that address these

issues dismiss this possibility. Even so, there is very

few authors that argue differently. For instance,

Cassese argues that actus reus of the crime of

terrorism implies that terrorist act must constitute

criminal offence under most legal systems; must aim

at spreading terror by means of the threat or use

violent action among the public or particular groups

of persons; and must be politically, ideologically or

religiously motivated. As for mens rea, Cassese

argues that there must be special intent, that is, to

spread terror among the population. But at the same

time, Cassese argues that perpetrator does not attack

specific person, on account of, for instance, gender,

age, nationality (Cassese, 2004). Disregarding

Cassese's arguments is possible in several ways. For

instance, one could consider terrorism over genocide

in terms that even though terrorist attack might be

directed towards one of the protected groups

(national, ethnical, racial or religious), does not

necessarily have to be complied with it. On the other

hand, it would be very hard to demonstrate that

spreading terror among population and performing

pressure towards government establishes special

intent in relation to special intent for committing

genocide.

Crimes against humanity

Crimes against humanity are considered to be such

crimes, whose conduct violates „'humaneness',

offending important principles of law to the degree

that it concerns international community; has

'repercussions beyond international frontiers'; or

'exceeds in magnitude savagery any limits tolerated

by modern civilization'“ (Blakesely, 2007). Within

the scope of Statute, crimes against humanity are

considered to be any of the acts committed as part of

a widespread or systematic attack directed against any

civilian population, with knowledge of the attack,

namely: (a) Murder; (b) Extermination; (c)

Enslavement; (d) Deportation or forcible transfer of

population; (e) Imprisonment or other severe

deprivation of physical liberty in violation of

fundamental rules of international law; (f) Torture; (g)

Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced

pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of

sexual violence of comparable gravity; (h)

Persecution against any identifiable group or

collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic,

cultural, religious, gender, or other grounds that are

universally recognized as impermissible under

international law, in connection with any act referred

to in this paragraph or any crime within the

jurisdiction of the Court; (i) Enforced disappearance

of persons; (j) The crime of apartheid; (k) Other

inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally

causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to

mental or physical health. As one part of the problem,

it is often argued that the difficulty of placing

terrorism under crimes against humanity is in the

requirement related to “widespread and systematic

attack” as if in many cases, terrorism constitutes as

isolated incident or part of surge of incidents and not

necessarily centrally instituted (de Londras, 2010). Of

the other part, as it is argued at the Rome Conference,

terrorism is by definition attack directed against

civilian population, which would constitute the

jurisdictional requirements for prosecution in the

Court as a crime against humanity. Although

questionable, Cassese argues that even though

provisions of the International Criminal Court include

only acts committed against civilians, terrorist acts

might target even military personnel and

infrastructure for customary international law has a

broader scope of application then provisions of

international treaty law (Cassese, 2004). Finally, as

referred to causing great suffering, or serious injury to

body or mental or physical health terrorism could

clearly qualify for purposes of the Court jurisdiction

as a crime against humanity (Van der Vyver, 2010).

Taking into account terrorist act per se, it seems that

it could be considered as certain act under crimes

against humanity acts stated in Statute of the

International Criminal Court. Attempts have been

already made to include terrorism under the

International Criminal Court jurisdiction, specifically

under the crimes against humanity, with or without

particular naming terrorism. As Boister points out,

certainly, eventual conviction would be not of

terrorism, but crimes against humanity. Therefore it

would be only partly satisfactory and may serve as an

intermediate solution (Boister, 2010).

War crimes

War crimes are under jurisdiction of the Court in

particular when committed as part of plan or policy or

as part of a large-scale commission of such crimes.

Under the Statute, war crimes by way of example

include:

1. Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions

of 12 August 1949, in terms of acts against

persons or property protected under the

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provisions of the relevant Geneva

Convention.143

2. Other serious violations of the laws and

customs applicable in international armed

conflict, within the established framework of

international law.144

3. In the case of an armed conflict not of an

international character, any of the acts

committed against persons taking no active

part in the hostilities, including members of

armed forces who have laid down their arms

and those placed hors de combat by sickness,

143 Namely: (i) Wilful killing; (ii) Torture or inhuman treatment,

including biological experiments; (iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; (iv) Extensive

destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military

necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; (v) Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of

a hostile Power; (vi) Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other

protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial; (vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement; (viii)

Taking of hostages. 144 Namely, any of the following acts: (i) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual

civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; (ii) Intentionally

directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives; (iii) Intentionally directing attacks against

personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a

humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled

to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the

international law of armed conflict; (iv) Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss

of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or

widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the

concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated; (v)

Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not

military objectives; (vi) Killing or wounding a combatant who,

having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defense, has surrendered at discretion; (vii) Making improper use of a flag

of truce, of the flag or of the military insignia and uniform of the

enemy or of the United Nations, as well as of the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions, resulting in death or serious

personal injury; (viii) The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the

Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of

the population of the occupied territory within or outside this

territory; (ix) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes,

historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and

wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives; (x) Subjecting persons who are in the power of an adverse party to

physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital

treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her

interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons; (xi) Killing or wounding treacherously

individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army; (xii) Declaring

that no quarter will be given; (xiii) Destroying or seizing the enemy's property unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively

demanded by the necessities of war; etc. Article 8 of the Statute of

the International Criminal Court is exhaustive in enumeration of 26 offences under this particular section.

wounds, detention or any other cause.145

This

provision applies to armed conflicts not of an

international character and thus does not

apply to situations of internal disturbances

and tensions, such as riots, isolated and

sporadic acts of violence or other acts of a

similar nature.

4. Other serious violations of the laws and

customs applicable in armed conflicts not of

an international character, within the

established framework of international

law.146

Evidentially, in terms of the Statute, terrorism has to

be considered pursuant to a large scale commission of

exhaustive list of war crimes enumerated in the

Statute. On a basis of that, one must conclude that

certain terrorist act(s) might constitute war crimes in

145 Namely: (i) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of

all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (ii) Committing

outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; (iii) Taking of hostages; (iv) The passing of

sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous

judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all judicial guarantees which are generally recognized as

indispensable. 146 Namely: (i) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct

part in hostilities; (ii) Intentionally directing attacks against

buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in

conformity with international law; (iii) Intentionally directing

attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in

accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they

are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict; (iv) Intentionally

directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education,

art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they

are not military objectives; (v) Pillaging a town or place, even when

taken by assault; (vi) Committing rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, as defined in article 7, paragraph 2

(f), enforced sterilization, and any other form of sexual violence

also constituting a serious violation of article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions; (vii) Conscripting or enlisting children under

the age of fifteen years into armed forces or groups or using them

to participate actively in hostilities; (viii) Ordering the displacement of the civilian population for reasons related to the conflict, unless

the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons

so demand; (ix) Killing or wounding treacherously a combatant adversary; (x) Declaring that no quarter will be given; (xi)

Subjecting persons who are in the power of another party to the

conflict to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical,

dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously

endanger the health of such person or persons; (xii) Destroying or

seizing the property of an adversary unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of the conflict;

(xiii) Employing poison or poisoned weapons; (xiv) Employing

asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices; (xv) Employing bullets which expand or

flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard

envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions.

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some cases. Therefore war crimes create the finest

connection with act(s) of terrorism.147

Considering

that war crimes become important in terms

differentiating international and non-international

conflicts, some authors mention numerous examples

of positioning terrorist acts under war crimes defined

in the Statute. For instance, Antonio Cassese

mentions that Article 33(1) of the Fourth Geneva

Convention of 1949 prohibits acts of terrorism

committed against civilians eligible for the status of

“protected persons”, whether they are perpetrated by

the armed forces of a belligerent against persons who

find themselves in the belligerent’s territory or in an

occupied territory. Similarly, according to the Article

4(2)(d) of the Second Additional Protocol of 1977,

acts of terrorism against civilians or persons that have

ceased to take part in the conflict are prohibited in

internal armed conflicts, irrespective of the party to

the conflict that uses terrorist methods (Cassese,

2004).

Crime of aggression

For the purpose of this Statute, crime of aggression148

means the planning, preparation, initiation or

execution, by a person in a position effectively to

exercise control over or to direct the political or

military action of a State, of an act of aggression

which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes

a manifest violation of the Charter of the United

Nations. Act of aggression means the use of armed

force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial

integrity or political independence of another State, or

in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of

the United Nations. Any of the following acts,

regardless of a declaration of war, shall qualify as an

act of aggression: (a) The invasion or attack by the

armed forces of a State of the territory of another

State, or any military occupation, however temporary,

resulting from such invasion or attack, or any

annexation by the use of force of the territory of

another State or part thereof; (b) Bombardment by the

armed forces of a State against the territory of another

State or the use of any weapons by a State against the

territory of another State; (c) The blockade of the

ports or coasts of a State by the armed forces of

another State; (d) An attack by the armed forces of a

147 On this issue please refer to: Sahadžić, M. (2010), 'Pravna

priroda terorizma u korpusu međunarodnog humanitarnog prava i međunarodnog prava ljudskih prava' [Legal nature of terrorism in

corpus of international humanitarian law and international law of

human rights], Pravna misao, no. 1–2, pp. 22–42. 148 Definition of crime of aggression has been adopted at the

Review Conference of the Statute of the International Criminal

Court in 2010. However, the Court will be able to exercise jurisdiction over crime of aggression, subject to a decision to be

taken after 1 January 2017 by a two thirds majority of states parties

and subject to the ratification of the amendment concerning this crime by at least 30 states parties.

State on the land, sea or air forces, or marine and air

fleets of another State; (e) The use of armed forces of

one State which are within the territory of another

State with the agreement of the receiving State, in

contravention of the conditions provided for in the

agreement or any extension of their presence in such

territory beyond the termination of the agreement; (f)

The action of a State in allowing its territory, which it

has placed at the disposal of another State, to be used

by that other State for perpetrating an act of

aggression against a third State; (g) The sending by or

on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, irregulars

or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force

against another State of such gravity as to amount to

the acts listed above, or its substantial involvement

therein.

Short contention on positioning terrorism within the

International Criminal Court jurisdiction

Certain difficulties in broadening jurisdiction of the

International Criminal Court over treaty crimes that

are relative to crime of terrorism have been identified

by different authors. So to say, Boister includes

following reasons: ambiguous definition, insufficient

gravity, divergent treaty obligations, opinion that

treaty crimes are not international crimes, that there is

no international community interest, practical

problems and political consequences (2009).

Therefore, it is worth of exploring possibilities of

integrating crime of terrorism under the International

Criminal Court's statutory provisions. For instance,

Creegan identifies arguments pro et contra integrating

crime of terrorism into the International Criminal

Court. Arguments in favor of inclusion correlate to

judicial economy and normative jurisdiction of the

International Criminal Court, while arguments against

correlate to political and practical considerations

(2011). Finally, political considerations are the most

pronounced, from the drafting of the Statute period

onwards, especially when it comes to terrorist vs.

freedom fighter dichotomy. Therefore, there is

immanent fear of political implications if

investigation and prosecution of the crime of

terrorism would occur before International Criminal

Court. Anyway, some authors are of an opinion that

bringing terrorism under international judicial body is

of high importance. Maloney-Dunn identifies five

reasons to do so: “First, treating terrorism as an

international crime would help de-legitimize war as

the only, best, or requisite response to terrorist threats

and acts. Second, criminal investigations and

prosecutions provide a systemic, corrective, non-

belligerent alternative, although by no means the sole

or sufficient one, to anti-terrorism military and

political repression by governments. Third, providing

redress for terrorist crimes through an international

judicial branch would help check and balance

executive and legislative branches wherein the

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margins of abuse of power and majoritarian

discrimination against the other tend to be higher.

Fourth, subjecting the crime of terrorism to

International Criminal Court jurisdiction would help

standardize national laws on terrorist crimes due to

the Rome Statute‘s principles of complementarity,

jurisdiction, and admissibility, which promote

uniformity and specificity to a greater degree than the

obligations of states under customary international

law and United Nations resolutions to enact domestic

laws, no matter how disparate, proscribing terrorism.

Finally, victims of terrorism deserve rights equal to

those that victims of other crimes of serious concern

to the international community enjoy, as a matter of

human rights, justice, and reconciliation, including

the opportunity for reparations” (2010). On the other

hand, there are sporadic claims that terrorism was

deliberately omitted from the International Criminal

Court jurisdiction. Reason for this opinion is quite

simple to explain. International Law Commission that

was drafting the Statute of the International Criminal

Court omitted to define crimes that were to be

prosecuted considering that crimes defined by

international treaties in force, along with crimes

included in the Draft Code of Crimes Against the

Peace and Security of Mankind (which was also in the

process of drafting) and crimes considered part of

customary international law, should comprise the

subject matter jurisdiction of the International

Criminal Court (Van der Vyver, 2010). Anyhow, it

seems that rules that have been laid down in the

International Criminal Court Statute are set in a

manner to pertinently preclude regulation of acts of

terrorism and evidently extenuate rationale behind

having no comprehensive, universally accepted

definition of terrorism. And, as Carberry notices, the

International Criminal Court should not be limited to

these designated crimes, which presumably qualify as

serious, but rather the should serve as a forum for any

international crime. Crimes, such as terrorism or

narcotics trafficking, represent just two examples of

the wide variety of criminal activities that are of

growing concern. To be an effective tribunal, the

International Criminal Court needs flexibility and

versatility to respond to the diverse nature of crimes

facing the international community. Otherwise, the

International Criminal Court runs the risk of

becoming another inadequate remedy, similar to the

extradition based system, by severely limiting its

jurisdiction (Carberry, 1999).

THE NETHERLANDS’ FUTILE PROPOSAL

The First Review Conference of the Statute of the

International Criminal Court took place in 2010. At

that time, the Netherlands was at the standpoint that

the time has come to consider inclusion of the crime

of terrorism in the list of crimes under the

International Criminal Court jurisdiction. Therefore

the Netherlands submitted Proposal for the inclusion

of the crime of terrorism in the Rome Statute149

arguing that terrorism is one of the biggest and most

challenging threats the world is facing in the twenty-

first century, as well as that terrorist acts, not

depending on persons, places, forms, methods or

motives, are serious crimes of concern to the

international community. At the same time, the

Netherlands stated that there is all too often impunity

for acts of terrorism in cases where states appear

unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute such

crimes. Therefore the Netherlands revoked for a

greater role of the International Criminal Court within

rationale that the Court has been established to

prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the

international community. Taking into consideration

that there is absence of a generally acceptable

definition of terrorism, the Netherlands proposed to

use the same approach as has been accepted for the

crime of aggression, i.e. the inclusion of the crime of

terrorism in the list of crimes laid down in the Statute

while at the same time postponing the exercise of

jurisdiction over this crime until a definition and

conditions for the exercise of jurisdiction have been

agreed upon.

Some authors state that uplift in advocating

expanding the International Criminal Court’s

jurisdiction over crime of terrorism has increased

significantly after 9/11 (Boister, 2009). Irrespective to

this, there is common understanding that the inclusion

of a crime of terrorism per se within the Statute on

this basis would send a clear message of the

international criminality of terrorist activity, but

would not enable prosecutions under the Statute until

this type of offence is more clearly defined. Given

that terrorist activity can already be prosecuted within

the established international criminal law offences

and that there is at least arguably a customary

international crime of terrorism, inclusion of this

nature is likely to be primarily symbolic but may, in

the future, result in a clearly expressed crime of

terrorism per se within the Statute (de Londras, 2010).

In the end, even delegations manifested support for

the proposal, it seemed that proposal was anticipated,

and to early submit as for many parties considered

that comprehensive and universally accepted

definition of terrorism is prerequisite. Therefore,

advancement has been trapped by the fact that there is

no general understanding upon definition of terrorism.

In this manner, problem of definition reflects and

battles against inclusion of terrorism under the

International Criminal Court jurisdiction.

149 Proposal for the inclusion of the crime of terrorism in the Rome Statute (the Netherlands) C.N.723.2009.TREATIES-5.

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AGITATIONS ON SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR

LEBANON’S INTERLOCUTORY DECISION

Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the latest hybrid

tribunal within international justice system whose

work started in 2009.150

Question of establishing the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon151

rose after

assassination of the former Prime Minister of

Lebanon Rafiq Hariri in February 2005 and is related

to the latest international justice instrument to be

adopted by the United Nations Security Council, the

Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. United

Nations Security Council established International

Independent Investigation Commission to help

Lebanese government in fact finding and fact

affirming. Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter,

the Council established the Special Tribunal for

Lebanon by virtue of an agreement with the

government of Lebanon (Shaw, 2008).152

Runge

states that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has two

characteristics unique in the scheme of international

criminal tribunals. It is the first international criminal

tribunal with its stated purpose being the prosecution

of crimes of terrorism. Secondly, the tribunal’s

application of Lebanese domestic law as to the

definitions of the crime of terrorism is one-of-a-kind,

making the subject matter jurisdiction reliant totally

on domestic law at a tribunal of international

character groundbreaking (2012).

What puts the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in a

spotlight within the meaning of terrorism is that on 16

February 2011, the Appeals Chamber of the Special

Tribunal for Lebanon carried out unanimous ruling in

its Interlocutory decision on the applicable law153

as a

response to a number of questions propounded by the

Pre-trial judge. These questions are summed up in

Headnote of the Interlocutory decision and relate to:

whether the Tribunal should apply international law

in defining the crime of terrorism; whether the

Tribunal should interpret the elements of the crimes

of intentional homicide and attempted homicide under

150 On creating the Special Tribunal for Lebanon background, please check: Runge, T.P. Daniel (2012), ‘The Special Tribunal for

Lebanon’s Unique Beginnings, Its Political Opposition and Role as

Model for Future Ad Hoc Criminal Tribunals for Terrorism Prosecution’, Southwestern Journal of International Relations, vol.

19, pp. 151 Acting in part under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Security Council established the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as of 10 June

2007 by 2007 Security Council Resolution 1757. Annexed to the Resolution was the Statute of Special Tribunal for Lebanon. 152 On Special Tribunal for Lebanon in regard with other legal and

international mechanisms and instrument please refer to: Sahadžić, M. (2012), 'International legal and institutional mechanisms and

instruments that influence the creation of the past', in Pauković, D.

& Raos, V. [eds.] Confronting the Past: European Experiences, Political Science Research Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, pp. 27–65. 153 Interlocutory decision on the applicable law: terrorism,

conspiracy, homicide, perpetration, cumulative charging (16 February 2011) STL-II-0l/1.

both Lebanese domestic and international law;

whether the Tribunal should interpret the elements of

conspiracy under both Lebanese domestic and

international law; modes of liability for crimes

prosecuted before the Tribunal (in particular

perpetration and co-perpetration), whether the

Tribunal should apply Lebanese domestic or

international law or both; whether the Tribunal should

apply Lebanese or international law to the regulation

of cumulative charging and plurality of offences.

In its answer, the Appeals Chamber 1) held that

terrorism had crystallized to form a distinct

international crime under customary international law

and 2) in light of international law, disagreed with the

narrow scope of the Lebanese interpretation of its

terrorism provision (Ventura: 2011). Evaluating it as

highly disputable, as well as criticizing judge

presiding, that happened to be Antonio Cassese,

already known and also previously mentioned for his

disputable standpoints in terms of terrorism as

international crime, many scholars accentuate

disagreement with the Appeals Chamber decision

stating, for instance that “the Appeals Chamber

entered uncharted and highly contested waters:

customary international law on terrorism” (Ventura:

2011). Some are even going further in evaluation

stating that “a close analysis of the sources relied

upon by Appeals Chambers demonstrates that its

conclusion was mistaken: there is no customary

international Crime of transnational terrorism154

(Saul, 2013).

Regardless of several issues addressed by the Appeals

Chamber, it seems that the most important issue is the

one related to definition of terrorism. Even though the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon holds jurisdiction over

those who are responsible for assassination of former

Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri but also over persons

responsible for offenses that took place between 1

October 2004 and 12 December 2005 in Lebanon, the

Appeals Chamber held that it was entitled to interpret

domestic law along with international law. Therefore,

although the Special Tribunal for Lebanon does not

have jurisdiction over international crimes whereas its

jurisdiction is consummately based on Lebanese law

and has no grounds to embrace international legal

norms in this issue, Appeals Chamber however

154 In contrast to the definition of international crimes, the

criminalization of conduct classified as transnational crimes

emerges from the concerns of individual states regarding their “political, social and economic interests” and “assertions about the

harm caused to these interests.” For instance, money laundering is

seen as a crime that erodes the financial institutions, depresses economic growth, facilitates corruption, and increases economic

instability, while drug trafficking threatens public safety, economic

productivity, public health, professional advancement and education, and public institutions. (Nagle, 2010)

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insisted on applying international law beyond

complementing non-existence of domestic legal

norms. In the end, the Appeals Chamber declared that

the customary international law definition of terrorism

comprises following elements of terrorism: (1) the

perpetration of a criminal act (such as murder,

kidnapping, hostage-taking, arson, etc.), or

threatening such an act; (2) the intent to spread fear

among the population (which would generally entail

the creation of public danger) or directly or indirectly

coerce a national or international authority to take

some action, or to refrain from taking it; (3) when the

act involves a transnational element.

Trouble here is that “the Appeals Chamber identified

international crime of transnational terrorism in

peacetime, in interpreting the scope of domestic

terrorism offences under Lebanese law” (Saul, 2013)

in terms of also promoting opinion that “prohibition

of terrorist acts in time of armed conflict is considered

to be emerging” (Ventura, 2011) taking into

consideration numerous international documents that

have been comprehensively accepted. After listing

numerous international and regional treaties, national

laws, judicial decisions from various national

courts155

, the Appeals Chamber took a stand that

wrongness of terrorism has already been encompassed

into international crimes. Also, „in terms of

applicability of customary international law in

Lebanon, the Appeals Chamber clearly stipulated that

a ‘transnational element’ was a necessary component

for acts to meet its definition of terrorism as an

international crime. And by the Chamber’s own

account, a transnational element is part of the

definition of international terrorism” (Ventura, 2011).

And, this is considered to be the most controversial

155 To mention just some of the international and regional documents that the Tribunal referred to: 1971 Convention for the

Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation;

1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft; 1963 Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts

Committed on Board Aircraft; 1973 Convention on the Prevention

and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons; 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts

Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation; 1997 Convention for

the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings; 1999 Organization of African Union Convention on the Prevention and Combating of

Terrorism; 1999 Convention of the Organization of the Islamic

Conference on Combating International Terrorism; 1998 The Arab Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism; 2005 Council of

Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism; 1987 SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism; 2002 Inter –

American Convention Against Terrorism; 1979 International

Convention Against the Taking of Hostages. National laws that were referred include, by an example: Tunisia, Sweden, Belgium,

Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom,

Columbia, Peru, Chile, Panama, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Pakistan, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, the United States of

America, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, the Seychelles,

Saudi Arabia, etc.

aspect of the Appeals Chamber’s decision, because it

invoked various supposedly converging material

sources to support its contention that there now exists

a customary international crime of transnational

terrorism: anti-terrorist treaties, numerous national

laws, judicial decisions from various national courts

(Saul, 2011).

Along with mentioned scholars, others also question

the role of international law in terms of determining

whether if it is directly applicable or just

interpretative aid, as well as analyzing Lebanese

terrorism definition. Approach to the process of legal

interpretation is concluded to be questionable in the

manner it has been done by the Appeals Chamber

(Ambos, 2011). Others are openly stating that “by

recognizing a definition of terrorism in customary

law, the Special Tribunal neatly side-stepped almost a

century of legal deadlocks in (ongoing) treaty

negotiations and debates in bodies such as the UN

General Assembly and Security Council” whereas a

“close analysis of relevant treaties, United Nations

resolutions, national laws and national judicial

decisions confirms the near-universal scholarly

consensus that there does not yet exist a customary

law crime of terrorism as defined by the Tribunal”.

(Saul, 2012).

It is surely striking that the Special Tribunal for

Lebanon indicated existence of international crime of

transnational terrorism. However, there are also

different, more positive and alleviating opinions on

the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that

needs to be taken into account. For instance, Runge is

stating that the tribunal could serve as a model for

future terrorism persecutions at the ad hoc level,

which is to be sufficient model for terrorism

prosecutions in the future. Consequently, prosecution

of terrorism is actually considered to be the strongest

positive aspect of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

along with domestic law application that is required

where there is no uniform international standard for a

definition of terrorism (2012). In the end, it has to be

emphasized that gravity of the Appeals Chamber

opinion goes far further than the case that was held

before it, for it the first time ever that international

judicial body acknowledged definition of terrorism in

international law.

BOTTOM LINE?

In the face of issues subjective to defining terrorism

in international law, reputedly jurisdiction under

which act(s) of terrorism can be investigated and

prosecuted exists within the scope of international

law. Although, it needs to be pointed out, without

designating the term „terrorism“. Within the limits of

myriad of adopted international and regional

documents, as well as municipal legal acts, act(s) of

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terrorism have been recognized and pronounced

unlawful. Until comprehensive and universally

accepted definition of terrorism is adopted, it strikes

that terrorism as a discrete crime will not be identified

and acknowledged. Without this precondition,

revision of the Statute of the International Criminal

Court is unpromising. The same stalemate dwells in a

matter of customary international law. Many states

annotate that terrorism should be characterized as

international crime and included within the

jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. This

is shown through the example of the Netherlands

Proposal for the inclusion of the crime of terrorism in

the Rome Statute which, in the end, was not accepted.

Yet, observing and responding towards terrorism as

international crime, stays an open issue. So far,

terrorism qualifies as a crime under the International

Criminal Court's jurisdiction to some extent within

existing international crimes under the Statute of the

International Criminal Court. Under the plea of

ending indemnity in cases of terrorism and for the

purpose of positioning terrorism as an international

crime Special Tribunal for Lebanon faced backset and

preponderant condemnation after the Interlocutory

decision on the applicable law. It stands to sense that

derivation and positioning of terrorism as

international crime could be deducted from manifold

of international, regional, municipal provisions.

Regardless of wrangle created by Special Tribunal for

Lebanon based on alluding existence of customary

international crime of transnational terrorism by

virtue of overlapping international, regional and

municipal legal sources, its decision is still

momentous and incremental. Being the first

international court that acknowledged and affirmed

definition of terrorism in international law, surely

represents assisting step towards comprehensive and

universally accepted definition of terrorism in

international law.

References

[35] Ambos, K. (2011), 'Judicial Creativity at the Special

Tribunal for Lebanon: Is There a Crime of Terrorism

Under International Law?', Leiden Journal of

International Law, Vol. 24, pp. 655–675;

[36] Blakesley, C.L. (2007), 'Ruminations on Terrorism:

Expiation and Exposition', New Criminal Law

Review: An International and Interdisciplinary

Journal, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 554-581;

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