Rism as a Challenge for National and International Law: Security versus Liber- ty?, Berlin / Heidelberg (Springer 2003). Defining Terrorism in National and. Human rights law and international humanitarian law. In a sense, the whole human rights system is a part of counter-terrorism. The rights enumerated and elaborated in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights13 seek to protect human beings from to acts with an international or trans-border element? What is the defining or distinguishing feature of an act of terrorism? Is it a political motive or the targeting of Request PDF on ResearchGate | On Mar 1, 2009, No