The preemptive punishment of terrorists and the use of harsh interrogation techniques are not within the classical standards of the Rule of Law. They belong rather to a state of exception. A State committed to all the usually accepted requirements of the Rule of Law would not be allowed to carry such a war, because it would have the duty to treat its enemies as persons. Therefore, it would not be authorized to treat them as a source of danger. Nevertheless, these classical standards have been challenged in the last two decades by major institutional changes that are now being discussed both in theoretical as in practical levels.
war on terror; Rule of Law; terrorism