25/06/2025 Session
Welcoming the draft protocol amending the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, the Assembly said it introduces “a welcome and desirable step” by defining “terrorist offence” in legally binding terms, while stressing the need for safeguards to prevent misuse. “The legal definition of terrorism should be as precise as possible to prevent arbitrary application,” it stated.
Adopting the opinion based on the report by Titus Corlăţean (Romania, SOC), the Assembly supported the protocol’s goal of addressing emerging threats such as cyberterrorism and environmental terrorism. However, it noted that the broad scope of the new definition may risk legal uncertainty and could potentially affect non-violent protest movements. It regretted that human rights safeguards are present in the preamble but absent from the provisions.
PACE called on the Committee of Ministers to amend the protocol by ensuring that only “serious and credible” threats to commit a terrorist offence can be criminalised, and by reinforcing the explanatory report to clearly state that the expression of radical or controversial opinions on political issues should not be treated as a terrorist offence. It also urged it to instruct the Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDCT) to consider the inclusion of a specific humanitarian exemption, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2664 (2022), in its future work.
Recalling that combating terrorism and protecting Council of Europe standards and values are not contradictory but complementary, the Assembly reaffirmed that all counter-terrorism measures must fully respect human rights and the rule of law. It warned against “overbroad” definitions that could criminalise freedom of expression, and insisted on stronger safeguards to maintain democratic legitimacy.