The Terrorism and Law Project aims to contribute to the safeguarding of Australia by improving knowledge of how public law can be used to combat terrorism and will assist in the development of laws which achieve this goal while simultaneously respecting the core features of a liberal democratic society such as the rule of law and the protection of human rights.

The Project has two central strands. First, it aims to research the tension which counter-terrorism laws may exert between, on the one hand, constitutional safeguards which limit governmental power (namely the rule of law, federalism, the separation of powers) and, on the other, the right of a state to defend itself from attack and the responsibilities of border protection and national security. Second, it will engage in comparative research in order to consider alternative responses to the threat of terrorism in other common law nations with comparable cultural and political traditions to Australia. This will be done particularly with a view to assessing the means by which those countries have resolved the dilemmas which counter-terrorism can pose for maintenance of the rule of law and individual rights.

The Project has received funding from the Australian Research Council until 2010. It has numerous aims for the various stages of the project’s life between now and that date, including the holding of international conferences and workshops, publication of articles and edited collaborative works, and also the support of a PhD student in the area by means of a scholarship.

Resources relevant to this broad area are made available on the Centre's Terrorism and Law Resource page. These include an archive of Centre publications in the field, a listing of important web links and details on a Researcher's Email List.