Juridical Control of Terrorism

The present comment is written upon the basic assumption that the purpose of the juridical doctrines designed to control terror is to reduce, and if possible to eliminate, the destruction of human and material values involved in acts of terror. Professor Bassiouni approaches this problem through a threefold categorization of terror based upon motivation: first, terror designed to promote the private gain or profit of common criminals; second, terrorism by the mentally ill, and third, ideologically motivated terrorism. He deals primarily with the third one. This categorization is useful since it leads directly into a study of the causes of acts of terror which can in turn provide the basis for more effective control.

It is difficult to see how a start toward effective control can be made without a fundamental understanding of the causes involved. Such an understanding does not condone either the causes of terrorism or its results.