ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on several aspects of the democratic legitimacy of European Union (EU) counter-terrorism (CT) measures that are prioritized in contemporary policy and academic debate. It offers an analytical framework for the democratic legitimacy of CT measures, which is then used to assess the democratic legitimacy, effectiveness and impact of EU CT measures. The chapter draws some democratic theory perspectives on legitimate political authority. It examines whether EU counter-terrorism measures are legitimate in the first sense outlined in, in terms of 'output legitimacy'. The role of the Court of Justice in interpreting decisions affecting the fundamental rights of EU citizens is the recent striking down of the Data Retention Directive by the Court. As the review of literature and analysis of evidence shows, there is not enough evidence to say that restrictions on liberties or on citizen input are compensated by effective protection from the terrorist threat.
