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Try cross-border terror attacks in ICC: Balakrishnan

Legal Correspondent

Knee-jerk responses can prove to be counter-productive
Unrestrained TV coverage trigger extreme anger among masses

New Delhi: Expressing serious concern over cross-border terrorism, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan on Saturday suggested that such attacks be treated as offences recognised under the International Criminal Law as a ‘crime against humanity’ and tried before a supranational tribunal such as the International Criminal Court.

“However, the obvious practical problem with this suggestion is that prosecutions before this court need to be initiated by the United Nations Security Council and it may be reluctant to do so in instances of one-off terrorist attacks as opposed to continuing conflicts.”

Justice Balakrishnan was speaking at a two-day international meet on terrorism here. The annual meet has been organised jointly by the All-India Bar Association, the International Council of Jurists, the All- India Senior Advocates Association and the Indian Council of Jurists.

Rational approach

The CJI said legal response to terrorism must be founded on a rational understanding of the underlying causes. “Knee-jerk responses such as the clamping down on civil liberties or a spate of arbitrary arrests and increased surveillance over citizens can prove to be counter-productive. It is only through calm deliberation and mutual tolerance that legal systems of different nations can work together to tackle this problem.”

Justice Balakrishnan said: “Terrorist attacks should be treated as a unique form of ‘armed conflict’, wherein obligations can be placed on all nations to collaborate in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the attacks, irrespective of the location of the attacks or the perpetrators.”

He said: “We must also take note of the fact that a symbolic impact of terrorist attacks on the minds of ordinary citizens has also been considerably amplified by pervasive media coverage.” One of the ill-effects of unrestrained coverage was that it could provoke a disproportionate level of anger among the masses. “While it is fair for the media to criticise inadequacies in the security and law-enforcement apparatus, there is also a possibility that the resentment fuelled by media coverage can turn into an irrational desire for retribution.”

He said: “For instance, if terrorist strikes are attributed to individuals belonging to a certain ethnic or religious community, then the same may result in unreasonable discrimination and retaliation against ordinary members of that community. Such a trend was clearly visible in the United States in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and has been the cause of communal violence in many instances in our own country.”

Justice E. Dharma Rao of the Madras High Court presented a paper on the Right to Information in a vibrant democracy. International Council of Jurists Director S. Prabhakaran spoke on the same subject.

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