Legal Frameworks for Counterterrorism and War Crimes Face Overlap Challenges in Prosecutions
The interplay between international humanitarian law (IHL) and counter-terrorism legislation (CTL) presents significant challenges in prosecuting individuals for acts committed during armed conflicts. Often, acts that constitute war crimes under IHL, such as the use of explosives or taking of hostages, also fall under the definition of terrorist offenses in national legislation. While the International Counter-Terrorism Framework (ICTF) includes legal instruments requiring states to criminalize certain conduct, the specificities of domestic criminalization are left to individual states, leading to potential legislative overlaps. A key issue is that states frequently prioritize prosecution under CTL for lesser offenses, even when more serious war crimes have been committed. This practice is observed despite the fact that most terrorist acts during armed conflicts could also be prosecuted as war crimes. The absence of IHL exclusion clauses in domestic incorporation of ICTF conventions further exacerbates the...
