ABSTRACT
The importance of the criminal justice system in responding to terrorism has been highlighted by the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and Human Rights of the International Commission of Jurists. It wrote in its 2009 report 'Assessing Damage, Urging Action': 'A well-operating criminal justice system will deter terrorists, disrupt terrorist networks, catch and punish those who commit crimes, and ensure that any innocent suspects mistakenly caught up in the law enforcement process are rapidly released'. This chapter evaluates whether the criminal law has achieved these outcomes in its application to one particular facet of the terrorist threat, namely, the foreign terrorist fighters phenomenon. In recent years in both Australia and the United Kingdom (UK), there have been a significant number of terrorist plots and attacks inspired by Islamic State. The most effective use of the criminal law in both Australia and the UK has unsurprisingly been in respect of those individuals who have-at all relevant times-remained on domestic soil.
