Humanizing Terrorism Through International Criminal Law: Equal Justice for Victims, Fair Treatment of Suspects, and Fundamental Human Rights at the ICC

This article sheds light on whether terrorism should be included within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and whether classifying terrorism as an international crime subject to supranational tribunals\u27 jurisdiction can advance human rights and promote non-military responses to terrorist acts. Anti-terrorism policies in the wake of the September 11 attacks have led to repressive laws, human rights abuses, and military reactions, often with dehumanizing effects. The article argues that international criminal law, by holding individuals accountable before international criminal tribunals and through the incorporation of international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights noms in its corpus juris, can play a humanizing role in responding to terrorism by providing equal justice for victims, fair treatment of suspects, and alternatives to collective assignations of guilt that lead to the perpetuation of group-based hatred, discrimination, and violent reprisals. Asserting that victims of terrorism deserve the same legal redress that the international criminal justice system has granted to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, this article concludes that submitting the crime of terrorism to ICC prosecution, and hence complementary domestic jurisdiction, could provide greater legal protection and recourse to those marginalized and disempowered in both wartime and peacetime