International Criminal Law: A Weapon in the Arsenal of the War on Terror

Abstract

This article begins with the premise that the threat posed by global terrorism will be mitigated by addressing it as a criminal enterprise and not as a war in the strict sense of armed conflict. The concept of a "war on terror" has been adopted as an all-encompassing rhetoric to describe contemporary efforts at combating terrorist activity, be they military, judicial or otherwise. Thus, the apparent conflict between the stated premise and the title and theme of this article is illusory in that the rhetorical concept of warfare is being applied to the concepts of international criminal law being discussed. The key concept is that of the natural evolution of the criminality of terrorism at international law. Whilst such criminalisation is still evolving, existing tools of international law-enforcement are available and are effective to varying extents. This article discusses that evolution and the current impact on global terrorism of international cooperative arrangements in the form of extradition and mutual assistance as well as the barriers to effective application thereof. The likely enhancement of such arrangements by the adoption of international conventions is subsequently discussed in light of efforts by the international community to date to criminalise terrorism generally and provide for international prosecutorial mechanisms. More conclusively this article serves to demonstrate the value of international criminal law in this regard and the enormous potential of its arsenal of investigative and procedural tools in prosecuting a successful war on terror.