Izvorni znanstveni članak
"War against terrorism" and the concept of international legal personality
Davorin Lapaš
Sažetak
The paper deals with the problem of the so-called "war against terrorism" and its influence on the broadening of the concept of international legal personality. The use of the word "war" after the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington seems to be omnipresent in political declarations, in world media, but even in the writings of some legal commentators. International legal norms, particularly within the UN legal system, incriminate terrorism as an international criminal act, providing in the same time international responsibility as well as international sanctions for it, targeting not only states accused to support terrorism, but also terrorist organizations (e.g. Al-Qaida) and their members.
This being so, these organizations become not only submitted to international primary norms which incriminate terrorism, but also to international secondary norms providing the international responsibility for such an international criminal act as well as the sanctions for it.
Since the widely accepted understanding of the concept of international legal personality defines an international person as someone who is provided with rights and duties directly by international legal norms, being at the same time capable to breach these duties and to be responsible for such an international wrongful act, we can conclude that the problem of international terrorism and its actors such as terrorist organizations have become too serious in contemporary international relations to be ignored by international law. Therefore, it seems to us that the acceptance of international legal personality of these organizations as non-State entities, not only in theory, but in international practice could contribute to disburden tensions in interstate relations by activating their own international (even criminal) legal responsibility.
Ključne riječi
"war against terrorism"; international legal personality; terrorist organizations; use of force
Hrčak ID:
6421
URI
Datum izdavanja:
20.12.2006.
Posjeta: 3.224 *