The Impact Of International Terrorism On The Right To Personal Security In Iraq After 2003

Zainal Amin Ayub; Ahmad Masum; Mohamed Salman

Authors

Zainal Amin Ayub Universiti Utara Malaysia
Ahmad Masum Universiti Utara Malaysia
Mohamed Salman Universiti Utara Malaysia

Abstract

Hardly a day passes by without news of a terrorist bombing, kidnapping, or assassination somewhere in the world especially in Iraq. Terrorism has become a cancer and it is not in the interest of the nations, because it takes away their right to personal security. Following the event of September 11, there have been violations of international conventions and usages, human rights, which prompted countries globally to come up with laws to protect civil freedoms. In the context of Iraq, the Government came up with the Iraqi Anti-Terrorism Act No.13 of 2005 and the Iraqi Constitution of 2005 to address the issue of terrorism. The aim of this paper is to address the impact of international terrorism on the right to personal security in Iraq after 2003. The methodology adopted in this paper is a doctrinal legal research, focusing namely on primary and secondary data. This paper concludes that international terrorism has indeed affected the Iraqis right to personal security after 2003. Hence, there is a need to protect this fundamental right by re-looking into the Iraqi Anti-Terrorism Act No.13 of 2005. For instance, under the Act there is no clear definition of the terms â€œterrorismâ€ and â€œterrorist actâ€. This has led to serious problems in the enforcement of the Iraqi Anti-Terrorism Act No. 13 of 2005 such as the abuse of the right to personal security where innocent Iraqis are deprived to enjoy this fundamental right at the disguise of fighting terrorism by the state, which is not even clearly defined under the Act.

Key words: International terrorism, Iraqi Constitution of 2005, Iraqi Anti-Terrorism Act No.13 of 2005, right to personal security.

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Author Biographies

Zainal Amin Ayub, Universiti Utara Malaysia

Zainal Amin Ayub is a senior law lecturer and currently the Dean of School of Law, College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS), Universiti Utara Malaysia. He joined Universiti Utara Malaysia in 2000. Prior to that, he was the Federal Counsel at the Civil Division, Attorney Generalâ€™s Chamber in 1997. In 1998 to 2000, he was the Deputy Public Prosecutor, attached to the Anti Corruption Agency, Kuala Lumpur. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B (Hons.)) in 1997 from Kulliyah of Laws, International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM); Master of Laws (LL.M) in 2001 from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and PhD in Law from University of Leeds, United Kingdom. His area of specialisation is Criminal Justice System with sub specialisation in Law of Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Cyberlaws and Law Enforcement and Reform.