ABSTRACT
The inclusion of the Kurdish conflict within the definition and legal regime of a non-international armed conflict can be contrasted with the current characterisation of the situation as a series of terrorist attacks conducted by a proscribed terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).1 Terrorism has been a very controversial area of international law with a lack of consensus on the definition of terrorism, or what constitutes a terrorist.2 Although terrorist attacks have long been a feature of international relations, the situation materially changed with the Al-Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 11 September 2001. The global community began to focus on the phenomenon of terrorism as a high priority political issue and the term ‘global war on terror’ joined the lexicon of armed conflict. This resulted in a series of legal measures including the establishment of a UN Security Council mandated counter-terrorism committee with mandatory legal obligations on sovereign states to report on the measures they are taking to combat terrorist attacks.3
