Introductory Note

The question concerning the manner in which to combat international terrorism poses many challenges to international law. Some strategies are based on existing principles and rules, others require exploring new avenues. The report, ‘Counter-terrorism Strategies, Human Rights and International Law: Meeting the Challenges’, reproduced below, is the result of a meeting of a panel of experts, convened by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University and Campus The Hague, in April 2007, with the full support of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The purpose of the seminar was to further the international dialogue concerning the most adequate ways to address the threat of international terrorism, and to tackle specific legal questions regarding the applicability of human rights law, international humanitarian law, the law on the use of force in self-defence against terrorist acts and the possible ways to address failing states harbouring terrorists