Some Questions About the Definition of Terrorism and the Fight Against Its Financing

When the subject of terrorism is discussed in the context of international law, the issue inevitably arises of how to define ‘terrorism’. A substantial number of international conventions have been agreed which deal with various aspects of terrorism, but in all these conventions terrorism is defined in a way that is specific to the subject‐matter of the particular convention. No universal definition of terrorism can thus be discerned from them. This approach has proved adequate in the past, but recent events, and the reactions to those events in the context of international law, have made it necessary for a comprehensive definition to be agreed. The first part of the article discusses this issue generally, and suggests a tentative but comprehensive definition of terrorism. The second part of the article discusses the fight against the financing of terrorism. The article discusses the 1999 Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and the work of the Financial Action Task Force of the OECD. The article concludes that, though much good work has been done, there is still a long way to go in the fight against the financing of terrorism.