Syllabus and achievement requirements

Learning outcomes

In order to combat terrorism, states and international organizations have adopted numerous policies and initiatives, especially since 11 September 2001. These counter-terrorism measures pose certain challenges to the international legal system. The course addresses the challenges to the international legal system that counter-terrorism measures entail. We provide an introduction to relevant topics of international law, but the course focuses on the accommodation of and limitations to counter-terrorism measures that international human rights, refugee law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law place on states.

This course calls upon students to contemplate the line of legality of counter-terrorism efforts. In other words, students should understand the necessity of counter-terrorism to human rights, but that unfettered counter-terrorism undermines human rights itself. Through the study of specific cases in the context of counter-terrorism, students will also understand that there is constantly a necessity to balance competing demands to uphold the principles of democracy and rule of law.

Skills and general competence: Students write a final paper instead of exam.  Students read actual cases from the European Court of Human Rights, the Human Rights Committee, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and national courts.  They analyze international instruments on counter-terrorism and the fundamental human rights treaties.  They are able to explain the ethical and legal dilemmas arising from the phenomenon of the ¡°War on Terror¡±: use of force in counter-terrorist operations (use of drones), preventive actions (search, surveillance, censorship), extraordinary rendition, the prohibition on torture, detention, and prosecution not accordance with international standards. They are able to explain the trans-systemic institutional structure addressing counter-terrorism. Students should be able to apply this knowledge within jobs in the Ministry of Justice, police, intelligence agencies, and law firms.

Syllabus

The book can be purchased from Gnist Akademika bookstore at the Law faculty (Domus Nova building).

 This course requires the completion of an academic paper.

Books, articles, cases and other documents listed up in this reading list may be useful for your paper.

List of instruments used in this course

• UN Resolution 1373
•  Inter American Convention Against Terrorism
• OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism
• EU Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism
• SAARC Convention
• UDHR Art. 3
• CCPR, Arts. 4, 6 & 9
• CESCR Art. 5
• HRC General Comment 39
• Paris Minimum Standards of Human Rights Norms in a State of Emergency
• Siracusa Principles on the limitation and derogation of CCPR
• CAT, Articles 1 & 3 ; ICCPR, Art. 7
• Common Articles 2 and 3 to Geneva Conventions of 1949
• Articles 4 and 5 of Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949
• Articles 1 and 43- 45 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of International Armed Conflict (Protocol I) of 8 June 1977
• Articles 43- 45 and 50-51 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of International Armed Conflict (Protocol I) of 8 June 1977
• Article 13 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of Non-International Armed Conflict (Protocol I) of 8 June 1977

Required reading

1. Cases and readings

Students will be expected to analyze comparative cases from national tribunals and international human rights monitors.

Links to the articles are available from the Lecture outline on the JUS5503 webpage.

 Cases

• Goiboru v. Paraguay, IACTHR(2006)
• Finogenov and others v. Russia (ECTHR 2012)
• Isayeva, Yusopeva and Bazayeva v. Russia (ECTHR 2002)
• McCann v. UK (ECTHR)
• Guerrero v. Colombia (UN Human Rights Committee 1982)
• Sunday Times v. UK European Court of Human Rights
• Ergi v. Turkey European Court of Human Rights
• Urper v. Turkey, European Court of Human Rights (2009)
• Surek v. Turkey (ECTHR 1999)
• Klass and others v. Germany (ECTHR 1978)
• Kadi v. Council of the European Union (European Court of Justice 2008)
• Ireland v. UK, ECHR
• Lee v. Republic of Korea (2005) UN Human Rights Committee
• CAT Agiza Case
• Nabil Sayadi & Patrick Vinck v. Belgium (2008) UN Human Rights Committee
• Malone v. United Kingdom ECTHR (1984)
• Al-Nashif v. Bulgaria European Court of Human Rights (2003)
• El Masri v. Macedonia European Court of Human Rights
• Interlocutory Decision on the Applicable Law: Terrorism, Conspiracy,Homicide, Perpetration, Cumulative Charging, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, paras. 61-113
• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld et al., pp. 20-73
• Boumediene et al. v. Bush et al., pp. 8-70

 Government Documents

• Legality of the Use of Military Commissions to Try Terrorists November 6 2001 Memorandum for the Counsel to the President (Office of Legal Counsel US Department of Justice
• "Protected Person" Status in Occupied Iraq Under the Fourth Geneva Convention March 18 2004 Memorandum for the Counsel to the President (Office of Legal Counsel US Department of Justice

 United Nations

 Security Council Resolutions:

• 1269 on the responsibility of the Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security
• 1373 on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts
• 1851 on the situation in Somalia

2. Literature

Main book

• Duffy, Helen, The War on Terror and the Framework of International Law, Cambridge, 2nd edition, 2015 chapter 2, 6, 7.*

*The main book of the course The War on Terror and the Framework of International Law is available online via the UiO online network: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493959

For more information on remote access to the UiO online network, please see the following page: http://www.ub.uio.no/english/about/services/remote-access.html

 Articles

• Karima Bennoune, ¡°Terror/Torture¡±, 26 Berkeley Journal of International Law 1 2008, 1-62 [62 pp]
• Dr. Mohammed Saif-Alden Wattad, The Torturing Debate on Torture 29 Northern Illinois U. Law Review 1 (2008), 1-38 [38 pp]
• Torture Memos
• Louis Fisher, Extraordinary Rendition : The Price of Secrecy, 57 American U. Law Review 1404 (June 2008), 1405-1452 [47 pp]
• Corn and Jensen, Transnational Armed Conflict: A "Principled" Approach to the Regualtion of Counter-Terrorism Combat Operations 42 Israel Law Review (2009) pages 1-34 [34 pp]
• Rona Interesting Times for International Humanitarian Law Fletcher Forum of World Affairs Vol 27:2 Summer Fall (2003) , 55-74 [19 pp]
• Mark A. Drumbl, Transnational Terrorist Financing: Criminal and Civil Perspectives, 9 German Law Journal (2008), pp. 933-943 [10 pp]
• Philippe Sands, Torture Team: Uncovering War Crimes in the Land of the Free (Penguin 2009), pp. 211-294 [83 pp]

Optional reading

• Commentaries to Articles from Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I
• Antonio Cassese, Terrorism is Also Disrupting Some Crucial Legal Categories of International Law 12 EJIL (2001) 993-1001
• Prosecutor v Tadic ICTY Appeal Judgment paragraphs 83-145
• Prosecutor v Thomas Lunanga Dyilo ICC Decision on the Confirmation of Charges paragraphs 200-237
• Prosecutor v. Galic (Trial Judgement), Judge Nieto-Navia's separate and partially dissenting opinion, paras. 108-113
• Marco Sassoli, Terrorism and War 4 JICL (2006) 959-981
• Ingrid Detter The Law of War and Illegal Combatants 75 GWLR 5-6 (2007) 1049-1104
• US Department of Justice Memorandum of 22 January 02
• White House Memoradum of 7 February 2002
• Commentaries to Articles from Additional Protocols I and II - and follow respective links
• SUA Convention Articles 3-7
• Duffy, chap. 4 (pp. 117-143)
• Jeanne K. Giraldo and Harold A. Trinkunas, Terrorist Financing: Explaining Government Responses, in Terrorist Financing and State Responses: A Comparative Perspective, pp. 282-296 (2007)
• Sassoli, M. Transnational Armed Groups and International Humanitarian Law HCPR Occasional Paper Series Winter 2006 No. 6, 1-34 [34 pp]
• Jinks, D. September 11 and the Laws of War 28 Yale Journal International Law 15 (2003) pages 1-49 [49 pp]
• Bradley, C.A. and Goldsmith, J.L. Congressional Authorisation and the War on Terrorism Harvard Law Review 118 Harvard Law Review No 7. (2005) pp 2047-2133 [87 pp]
• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld et al., Justice Kennedy's partially concurring opinion
• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld et al., Justice Thomas' dissenting opinion
• Boumediene et al. v. Bush et al., Justice Robert's dissenting opinion
• Boumediene et al. v. Bush et al., Justice Scalia's dissenting opinion
• Duffy, chap. 8 (esp. pp. 379-430)
• United States of America v. Josef Altstoetter et al. ("The Justice Case"), pp. 1081-1177