Category: Counter-Terrorism

Review of ‘The Impact, Legitimacy and Effectiveness of EU Counter-Terrorism’

9781138854130Last year, Routledge published a book edited by Josephine Doody and I entitled The Impact, Legitimacy and Effectiveness of EU Counter-Terrorism. The Cambridge Law Journal has now published the first review of the book (C.L.J. 2016, 75(1), 179-182). The reviewer, Anna Marie Brennan (Liverpool), is generous in both her praise and her attention to the chapters that make up the collection. Some extracts are below:

The European Union (EU) continues to play an important role in the development of counter-terrorism law more than a decade after the Al Qaeda attacks on 11 September 2001. Fiona de Londras and Josephine Doody’s edited collection is, therefore, timely. They have brought together an anthology of essays by specialists in the fields of counter-terrorism law, human rights law, and EU law that address key issues in a systematic, synthetic, and critical fashion. A principal merit of the editors is their approach – de Londras and Doody draw on legal, democratic, societal, and operational perspectives to produce an interdisciplinary examination of the impact, legitimacy, and effectiveness of EU counter-terrorism, thereby rendering the volume credible. To date, there has been little research conducted on the legitimacy, impact, and effectiveness of EU counter-terrorism measures. A proper understanding of these issues is essential for reasonable analysis of how the EU has responded to terrorism. This edited collection excellently captures the relationship between the concepts of impact, legitimacy, and effectiveness when policy-makers are drafting and reviewing EU counter-measures. As a result, this book makes a significant contribution to the existing literature in the field.

…

Overall, this book is an excellent addition to the debate and dialogue on EU counter-terrorism. As well as providing a unique insight into the effectiveness of the EU in countering terrorism, the book also demonstrates how the rest of the international community could well take note of the EU’s approach to the prevention of terroristic activity. What is most significant about the book – and should not go underestimated – is the emphasis it places upon the primacy of impact, legitimacy, and effectiveness. It demonstrates how these three concepts are a central part of the overall EU counter-terrorism strategy, and its effective implementation and clear legal contours are vital to its existence. Fundamentally, this collection of essays provides clarity on these interpretive issues and suggests approaches for overcoming the challenges that the rapid growth of the EU’s counter-terrorism strategy has garnered. This book will be useful not only for academics, but also for legal practitioners and students, who are invited to reflect on the complex nexus between the EU and counter-terrorism law and policy.

Recruiting an RA for work on the Proposed EU Directive on Combating Terrorism

IDI-logo1I am very pleased to be joining in the research team of the ERC-funded project “Proportionality in Public Policy“. This project is led by Professor Mordechai Kremnitzer at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI).

As part of this research project a working group is being organised, entitled “The Consideration of Rights in the Process of Developing Policy for Combating Terrorism”. The research group will run for approximately one year (roughly May 2016-July 2017).

As part of the research group, I will be conducting a case study on the topic of “The European Directive on Combating Terrorism: Human Rights in a Complex Policy Context”, alongside researchers conducting similar case studies in other jurisdictions.

As part of my participation in the working group, IDI will fund research assistance devoted to this case study for approximately 450 hours, and up to a maximum of €12,000 gross. Although recruited and supervised by me, the RA will enter an employment contract with IDI, and payment will be done directly by IDI to the RA. IDI maintains the possibility to end its employment contract with the RA, subject to providing due notice.

I am now inviting applications for this post. The RA contract will run for the duration of the working group, and it is expected that around 1.5 days per week would be devoted, on average, by the RA to the project. The work will require the RA to undertake extensive literature review, document collation, document review, timeline construction, and possibly interviews with associated transcription. The work will result in both a case study to be published on the IDI webpage and at least one major peer reviewed article, which may be coauthored by the RA and me. The RA should have a good awareness of the concept and law relating to proportionality in human rights law (preferably comparative perspectives thereon), EU law, and counter-terrorism, or the capacity to quickly acquire appropriate expertise in these fields. Research experience would be an advantage. The RA will also be able to work independently, to firm timelines, and to an extremely high standard.  S/he will be a curious, independent thinker with a clear interest in human rights, the EU, counter-terrorism, proportionality, policy making, or a combination of these. S/he will not necessarily be a lawyer.

The RA will not have any formal employment or other relationship with the University of Birmingham as a result of this post, although s/he may have access to UoB library and other resources as appropriate. The RA need not be based in Birmingham, although s/he should be available for regular meetings by Skype and, where possible, in person. No additional travel expenses will be paid beyond the core RA payment.

For more information on the project, please contact Prof. Fiona de Londras at f.delondras@bham.ac.uk

Applicants should send (by email) a CV, a writing sample (up to a maximum of 8,000 words), and a covering letter outlining suitability for this post to Prof. de Londras at f.delondras@bham.ac.uk by 22 April 2016.

 

 

Column on the Brussels Attacks

Last evening The Conversation published a column from me on the terrible attacks in Brussels yesterday. The piece has already been picked up and reprinted widely, including by ABC’s The Drum and the Sydney Morning Herald, and can be read in full here. The introduction is as follows:

The attacks of March 22 in Brussels were shocking, but not surprising. They reinforced what many have known for years: Belgium has a serious problem with terrorism.

For a long time, security analysts have expressed anxiety about the depth and extent of radicalisation and fundamentalism in the country. It is thought that Belgium has the highest per capita rate of foreign terrorist fighters of any EU country. A February 2016 “high-end estimate” puts that number at 562 out of a population of just over 11 million.

Last November it was revealed that some of the Paris attackers had Belgian connections and were known to the security forces there, and Brussels was virtually locked down for almost a week.

Over recent years there have been attacks on Belgian museums, supermarkets and trains, raising questions about why the country cannot seem to effectively tackle the challenges of insecurity.

As ever, the answer is not a simple one. Rather, as observed by Tim King, Belgium’s “failures are perhaps one part politics and government; one part police and justice; one part fiscal and economic. In combination they created the vacuum that is being exploited by jihadi terrorists”.

Online Now: Webinar on EU Counter-Terrorism

Last week I visited Oxford to present a live Oxford Human Rights Hub ‘webinar’ on counter-terrorism in the EU, including an analysis of the proposals for reform after the the Paris attacks of the past year. The webinar can be accessed online here (audio + slides).

The attacks in Paris in November 2015 resulted in a wave of counter-terrorism law and policy reform proposals at EU level. In the webinar, I outlined these reforms, placed them in the wider context of EU counter-terrorism, and critically engaged with them from a human rights perspective.

The webinar covered the following topics:

  • What was the state of EU counter-terrorism law and policy before the Paris Attacks?
  • What are the particular perceived security vulnerabilities in Europe and how do these justify the involvement of the EU?
  • What proposals have been advanced at EU level and what are their implications for human rights?
  • How do these EU-level proposals interact with international and national proposals and measures to counter terrorism?