EU Counter-Terrorism Law

Book excerpt: EU Counter-Terrorism Law: Pre-emption and the Rule of Law is a detailed study of EU action to combat terrorism since 11 September 2001 and the implications that action has had for the EU legal order. It critically examines EU counter-terrorism measures to ascertain how rule of law principles have been affected in the 'war on terror'. The book opens with a critical examination of the rule of law in the EU legal order. It then provides an overview of the “war on terror” before analysing five key facets of EU counter-terrorism: the common European definition of terrorism along with related offences contained in the Framework Decision on Combating Terrorism; the EU's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance laws; UN and EU targeted asset-freezing sanctions; EU data retention measures such as the Data Retention Directive and the Passenger Name Records agreements; and the European Arrest Warrant and European Evidence Warrant. The book argues that EU counter-terrorism is weakening the rule of law and bypassing safeguards in favour of a system emphasising coercive control over individual autonomy. It concludes by examining the prospects for the future as the EU becomes a more powerful security actor following the Lisbon Treaty and the adoption of the Stockholm Programme. 'an impressively accurate and alarming analysis' Ms Sophia In 't Veld MEP and Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs 2ND Prize winner of the Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2013