Evolution of British Law on Terrorism: From Ulster to Global Terrorism (1970–2010)

Abstract

This chapter considers the techniques employed by the United Kingdom as one of the most experienced Western democracies in fighting terrorism. They describe how the UK has faced terrorist threats for over half a century. These threats began with political and religious violence in Northern Ireland in the Ulster counties and thereafter segued into global jihadist terrorism. The authors describe how, in the twenty-first century, the British government has deployed legal formulas and measures that it had applied in the 1970s and 1980s to counter political violence in Northern Ireland and adjusted them to address modern challenges posed by groups linked or inspired by Al Qaeda. Exclusion orders, extended periods of detention or increasing executive powers and usurping judicial review and authority are some of the measures attempted in Britain’s contemporary counter-terrorism efforts. It is argued that extending law enforcement or executive authority denigrates individual rights and freedoms unnecessarily and ultimately have a transcendent impact beyond the purpose for which they were created.