The collateral effects of counterterrorism
This is a summary of the original in French/Spanish (PDF below).
For decades, counterterrorism has stood at the forefront of global priorities, particularly since 9/11 and the subsequent attacks in Europe. This shift has transformed the landscape of criminal law, moving it away from a traditional punitive model toward a preventive one, supported and reinforced by European and United Nations instruments. The so-called “risk and security paradigm,” rooted in the post–World War II logic of social defense and the legacy of Nuremberg, has emphasized anticipation and prevention as guiding principles. Yet this expansion has come at a cost: it often undermines core liberal principles such as legality, culpability, and proportionality, while extending criminal liability to preparatory acts and normalizing exceptional measures that blur the boundaries of the rule of law.
Comparative perspectives highlight how these dynamics play out differently across regions. In Switzerland, political perceptions of terrorism have shaped evolving responses, ranging from Cold War surveillance scandals to the 2021 Federal Law on Police Measures Against Terrorism. In Spain, terrorism was long associated with membership in organized groups such as ETA or GRAPO, but the 2015 reforms redefined terrorism by intent alone, enabling the prosecution of so-called “lone wolves” and reinforcing the role of intelligence services. In Latin America, counterterrorism legislation blends authoritarian legacies with post-9/11 standards, frequently empowering the military and, under the pretext of security, justifying serious human rights abuses.
This issue examines the side effects and contradictions of such shifts through a range of contributions.
Sophie CHAMBORDON analyzes Switzerland’s persistent refusal to repatriate its nationals from Syrian camps, focusing on the humanitarian, legal, and international responsibility implications of this policy.
Robin KJELSSON addresses the evidentiary challenges raised by terrorist propaganda, exploring both procedural and technical dimensions of collecting and preserving digital evidence in Swiss investigations.
Sebastian G. CRUZ VARGAS discusses the ethical and legal dilemmas surrounding torture in the Peruvian context, where it is often portrayed as a preventive necessity against imminent threats.
Ahmed AJIL revisits the conviction of Swiss Islamic Central Council leaders for disseminating propaganda, a case that illustrates the preventive turn toward intent-based criminalization.
Finally, Cécile FORNEROD considers the scope of Swiss jurisdiction in transnational terrorism cases, reviewing the debates around extraterritorial application of criminal law.
Taken together, these contributions reveal how preventive criminal justice, though framed as a safeguard for public security, risks eroding fundamental rights, erasing distinctions between policing and intelligence, and extending repression into domains that are symbolic, speculative, or disconnected from actual acts of violence.