Law Commons^™

Defining Terrorism As The Peace Time Equivalent Of War Crimes: A Case Of Too Much Convergence Between International Humanitarian Law And International Criminal Law, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

The problem of defining "terrorism" has vexed the international community for years. The United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly called for the convening of an international conference to define terrorism and distinguish it from legitimate acts in furtherance of national liberation struggles.' A decade ago, representing the United States, I gave a speech in the United Nations Sixth (Legal) Committee, in which I pointed out that general definitions of terrorism "are notoriously difficult to achieve and dangerous in what all but the most perfect of definitions excludes by chance." Today, we hear calls for a renewed effort to reach international …