ABSTRACT
A state confronted with a threat of terrorism can respond in a variety of ways. Under a ‘criminal justice model’, terrorist activity can be treated ‘as a crime’.1 As a crime must have an ‘act’ (actus reus), the criminal justice model ‘depends on prosecution after the fact, making it reactive as opposed to proactive’.2 The criminal justice model resembles ‘standard security features in a liberal democratic state’,3 and contains a specific crime as defined in legislation, the use of a police force to investigate any breach of the law and punishment after individualised determination of guilt in a public trial.4 Some states implementing a criminal justice model may modify, to a limited extent, the existing criminal justice system to deal specifically with the threat of terrorism.5 This may include a change to some rules of evidence or procedure, creating special courts for terrorist offences, creating ‘advocacy crimes’ or criminalising membership of certain organisations.6
