This book fills an important gap in the literature on terrorism. It is designed as a case book, including seminal cases which set out the fundamental rules or principles applicable when circumstances are sufficiently intense to warrant use of the term `terrorism'. The United Kingdom is used as a primary source because English law regulating political violence has been continually refined in the 300 years since the Glorious Revolution and has served as a paradigm for other countries that derive their jurisprudence from that experience. Ireland represents what might be called the post-revolutionary variation. Its laws were drafted and are administered by rebels and the children of rebels, who clearly recall the successes and failures of the British campaigns in their country, and who continue to observe the repercussions of pacification efforts in Northern Ireland. Because there are fewer Irish court decisions and because Irish law in many instances mirrors the law of the United Kingdom, only that Irish material which adds a distinctive perspective is included. The United States presents a third, peaceful model and a country which is increasingly confronted by terrorist acts.
The themes addressed in this book revolve around legal efforts to reconcile security considerations with those liberal democratic values which the nations consider to be their constitutional heritage. Part I looks at the treatment of aliens - both those who seek admission and those admitted whom the state decides to expel. Part II examines selected problems involving citizens' rights, and the extent (if any) to which these rights can be impaired by anti-terrorist measures. Part III focuses on these institutional restraints on governmental behaviour derived from legislation or from common law.