Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism: Towards a Human Rights and Accountability Framework?
COUNTER-TERRORISM: INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICE, p. 351, A. Salinas de Frias, K. Samuel and N, White, eds., Oxford University Press, 2012
37 Pages Posted: 21 Nov 2011
Date Written: June 1, 2011
Abstract
This paper considers the role of the intelligence community in counter-terrorism. It starts from the premise that the terrorist threat is real, that states need to address it, and that intelligence plays a crucial role in this. The paper argues that intelligence is at the heart of the shift from a traditional law enforcement/criminal justice to an intelligence-driven preventive paradigm in counter-terrorism, which has resulted in preventive mechanisms co-existing alongside the criminal justice response to terrorism. The intelligence underlying those procedures, especially issues of disclosure, challenges in turn the judiciary in safeguarding human rights and due process while protecting legitimate secrecy. It further considers the challenge of securing a framework that recognizes the fundamental role of intelligence, including its confidentiality requirements, while ensuring full accountability for any related human rights violations. This is even more warranted because the threat is real, and democratic countries need viable responses to security threats that avoid damaging the rule of law.
Keywords: rule of law, counter-terrorism, intelligence, human rights, accountability
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