de Brabandere: The Regulation of Incitement to Terrorism in International Law

Eric de Brabandere (Leiden Univ. - Law) has posted The Regulation of Incitement to Terrorism in International Law (in Balancing Liberty and Security: The Human Rights Pendulum, L. Hennebel & H. Tigrouda eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Propaganda has since long been a subject of international regulation, but it has regained importance recently, especially in its relation with incitement to violence — particularly incitement to commit genocide and, more recently, incitement to terrorism. Although some cases of terrorist propaganda and incitement to terrorism could fall under the international prohibition of incitement to (racial) discrimination, incitement to terrorism has been the subject of specific international regulation as a measure to prevent terrorist attacks. Several instruments are specifically directed at prohibiting terrorist propaganda through the prohibition of direct and/or indirect incitement to terrorism: Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), the European Union Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on combating terrorism, the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism of 2005, and Security Council Resolution 1624 (2005).

At the same time, the question needs to be raised whether Security Council action is the best medium to regulate complex issues such as incitement to terrorism. In the course of this chapter, we will indeed see that many areas remain especially in relation to the contours and legality of the criminalization of incitement to terrorism. The only instrument that has so far proposed a relatively complete framework to address the issue has been the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, since the used instrument — an international treaty — by necessary implication offers more possibilities for detail and specifications than a Security Council resolution. On the other hand, the adoption of a Security Council resolution guarantees a quasi-universal approach.