Právní opatření Evropské unie v boji proti terorismu

The fight against terrorism is one of the main political and security challenges which the international community and the European Union have to cope with. In the past decades, terrorism very long considered as a domestic matter of states has developed into a crucial factor endangering international security. Therefore it is not surprising that the European Union has become actively engaged with counter-terrorism. In the present study we focus on several legal measures which the EU has adopted in the fight against terrorism. This article starts with an introduction to the historical development of counter-terrorism strategies and measures on the European level, special attention being paid to situation after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the USA. Besides a number of political decisions, the EU has adopted legal acts concerning the definition of terrorism, the harmonization of criminal Jaw, asset freezing and extradition law. The definition of terrorism is still to be regarded as an unsolved problem on the universal level of international Jaw. So far, no comprehensive legal definition has been adopted by the UN. Though criticized by some human rights lawyers, the definition contained in the EU framework decision of 2002 means a clarification and a certain improvement. States very often believe asset freezing as imposed by UN Security Council resolutions and implemented by EU legal acts to be one of the most effective counter-terrorism measures. However, as we have pointed out in the present study, those measures raise very serious human rights concerns, especially regarding the right to fair trial and court access. The corresponding sanction regime, therefore, should be adapted to the legal standards developed by international and domestic human rights documents. In the last chapter, the impact of the European Arrest Warrant has been analysed with a special view to the problem of terrorism. We have found that the traditional mechanism of extradition which is part to almost all international counter-terrorism conventions has been a rather weak instrument in the past. The European Arrest Warrant could speed up and simplify the surrender procedure between EU member states also in the fight against terrorism. So far, there is, however, no empirical proof for this suggestion.