ABSTRACT
The term ‘terrorism law’ potentially encompasses a vast range of subject matter. Plainly, it includes the many laws enacted throughout the world around the time of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to deal with the phenomenon of twenty-first century terrorism. Examples from the UK are legion. They include: the Terrorism Act 2000 (the one terrorism law here predating the 9/11 attacks); the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA); the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (PTA); the Terrorism Act 2006; the Counter-terrorism Act 2008 (CTA); and the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011. 1 Examples from elsewhere in the world include Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 2 the Authorisation of Use of Military Force (AUMF), enacted by the US Congress immediately after 9/11, and the USA PATRIOT Act. 3 This list is far from complete: various reforms to immigration law,criminal law and procedure, international finance and the structure of security and intelligence agencies, could also be plausibly considered as falling under the rubric of terrorism law. 4 However, for the sake of simplicity and concision, this chapter will confine itself to the examples noted above, and focus particularly on terrorism laws from the UK.
