Over the last thirty years, the UN has shown an unmistakable interest in combating terrorism. This book analyses the practice of the General Assembly and the Security Council in combating terrorism. It answers the question whether these organs, taking into account their powers and the constitutional and public international law limitations thereof, best contribute to a universal anti-terrorism policy.
In order to assess whether both organs are indeed fulfilling this purpose, the analysis of the adopted counter-terrorism measures of both the General Assembly and the Security Council focuses on their legality and legitimacy. Whereas the measures adopted should clearly fall within the powers of the organs (legality), testing the legitimacy of these measures adds another layer of information with regard to the quality of these measures. The analysis of the legitimacy of the anti-terrorism measures is based on the theory of Thomas Franck, who claims that a rule’s legitimacy provides information on the pull to compliance of the measure.
Apart from this critical analysis of the legality and the legitimacy of more than 130 resolutions adopted by both UN organs, this book offers an essential insight in the way the degree of legitimacy of certain measures can be improved, and how the overall effectiveness of the counter-terrorism policy of the UN can be strengthened.