ABSTRACT
The treatment of aliens when it comes to states’ counter-terrorism activities inevitably focuses on those areas of law where states are entitled to differentiate between citizens and aliens. 1 National constitutions may permit quite substantial differences in treatment between citizens and aliens. 2 Thus, while citizens can claim constitutional rights where confronted with state allegations of their involvement in terrorist activities, aliens can be defined out of the group entitled to such rights. When the rights of aliens are at stake, and national constitutions do not provide for equality of treatment with citizens in the relevant field, regard must be paid to international treaty commitments. The first step is to examine what limitations international commitments place on the treatment of aliens with specific reference to situations where there are allegations of terrorism against them and where they are found. The second step will be to look at how these commitments are applied in practice in cases where there are allegations of terrorism against aliens.
