ABSTRACT
In the international community, although there has been general agreement on the undesirability of such things as war, racial discrimination, genocide, and other violations of basic human rights, there is still a reluctance to translate that agreement into workable treaties with enforcement powers. This chapter examines portions of international law that do not deal specifically with terrorism but from which laws and regulations on terrorism have evolved. Three areas of international law come immediately to mind in this regard: laws of war, laws on piracy, and laws concerning the protection of diplomatic personnel and heads of state. The definition of what constitutes a "political" crime has become a crucial part of the modern legal debate concerning terrorism. In the absence of a judiciary empowered to adjudicate without the consent of all parties, and lacking an executive or police force to enforce the laws, international law on terrorism has evolved as a patchwork of treaties.
