The Presidency of European Union (EU) plays an important role in the functioning of the whole organisation. First of all, it is the propelling force for new decisions and policies in every area. Interior and exterior security of the EU (especially terrorism and its prevention) has become major issues in recent years. Terrorist attacks in London and Madrid not only made us realise that interior security was threatened, but also that this problem is connected to the exterior environment. In eff ect, many documents referring to fi ghting terrorism have come into existence. It have shown a big demand for creating instruments that would deal with security issues. Moreover, many of the Union’s institutions have been granted rights to combat it. That is why it is legitimate to look closer at the output of previous Presidencies in the area of freedom, security, and justice. This paper aims at listing matters connected to the EU’s security through the analysis of priorities and conclusions of the Presidencies in years 2005–2010, and the effects coming from Work Programmes’ guidelines with simultaneous pointing to often different goals set by particular countries.

Contemporary terrorism is characterised by a complex and networked model of operation. While the main objectives of terrorist acts remain the same, the attack environment, tactics and tools are changing. The international community is taking steps to strengthen counter-terrorism systems, but these are peaceful solutions. These models do not consider the conditions of hybrid armed conflicts in which terrorism is an element of combat tactics. It is a relatively new phenomenon and particularly dangerous for the civilian population. The acts of terror in hybrid warfare are not mechanisms with a simple scheme of action, and, as we try to show in this article, they represent a deliberate and broad spectrum of action. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand terrorism in the context of the threat of hybrid war (especially when terrorist acts complement hybrid tactics or significantly replace conventional tactics). This type of threat must be recognised before achieving its strategic goals. From the substantive point of view, the article studies the problem of terrorism as one of the threats of an armed conflict in Ukraine, commonly known as hybrid war.

The Muhajirs in Poland – the threat of Islamist terrorism from foreigners

The aim of this article was to analyse the terrorist threat in Poland posed by foreigners participating in the global salafi jihadist project. As a rule, these are people associated with such organizations as the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State ISIS, and their derivatives. The research was to verify the actual scale of the phenomenon, the motivations, the modus operandi, and to show trends in this practice. It was also an attempt to identify system problems that hinder the fight against terrorism and may result in a threat to Polish security. The analysis also shows that, contrary to popular opinions, the threat comes not only from the Middle East, but also from Central Asia and the Caucasus. All these directions, however, have their specifics.

Activity recognized as terrorist in the Piła Voivodship in the 1980s in the light of the object case code-named «Violence» (selected issues)

The object-related case, codenamed “Violence”, was conducted by the 3rd Department of the District Offi ce of Internal Aff airs in Piła during the years of 1984–1990. Its purpose was to identify, neutralize and eliminate acts bearing the hallmarks of terror, in particular; killings, beatings or deprivation of liberty for political reasons, explosions and arson of political objects and state institutions, collecting weapons and explosives in order to organize terrorist attacks, kidnapping people and planes, illegal political and nationalist organizations that use terror as a form of combat, as well as the operational control of channels to terrorist centres in capitalist countries.

The concept of terrorism raises serious disputes and doubts. Difficulty in defining the phenomenon of terrorism is the problem of distinguishing terrorist activities from acts committed by madmen or criminals. The considerations taken in the text concentrate on the searching for the answer to the question: is it possible to construct a commonly accepted definition of terrorism? It was necessary to refer the perception of terrorism and show the scientific approach to terrorism as a phenomenon present in the modern societies.

Author of this article undertakes an effort to analyze the money laundering process. Starting form outlining the problem, showing historical overview, describing basic definitions and key issues concerning the problem such as: organized crime and drug trafficking, most important socio-economical impacts of the money laundering process that itself will be analyzed together with international legal efforts to fight it showing the most important organizations involved. Last part of the article will concentrate on Polish legal and organizational solutions in this matter.

The centralization, depoliticization and empowerment of judges in the French counter-terrorism system is an effective measure against terrorism, despite the fact, that it is controversial. The article will discuss the powers of the leading judicial bodies in the fight against terrorism, their advantages and disadvantages. The article emphasizes the thesis of the effectiveness of the anti-terrorism system in France, even though it is based on complex principles.

After 200 years of bondage, India gained freedom from the British through numerous revolutionary movements in 1947. But, within 20 years of the independence, insurgent movements had started arising against the Indian Government as well. In 1967, the Naxalite insurgency was initiated as a radical protest by the oppressed peasants against the colonial tenancy system retained by the feudal landowners even after the British had left the country for good. The uprising got pinpointed as Naxalism and the rebels as Naxals, as it all started at Naxalbari, a village in the Indian state of West Bengal. Spanning over 50 years, this ongoing movement initially acquired the respect of the general population of India with its radical ideologies of fighting against the oppressor imperialists but soon mutated into a source of terror. A qualitative assessment of the instances taken from secondary sources, such as context-related online journals and blog articles, will help this paper to explain the formation of the contemporary perception of Naxalism as an extreme radical armed revolution and one of the biggest security challenges against the Indian Government.

The main objective of the article was to determine whether the Uyghurs were a relevant group in the Syrian conflict, i.e., whether they were numerous, well-organized and determined enough to take the fight to the Syrian army or other non-state actors or cooperate with them. Several levels of analysis were carried out in this article. Firstly, article aimed to show where the Uyghurs in Syria came from. Secondly, the following section assessed their importance to the Syrian conflict, as well as who they worked with and fought against. Thirdly, it analysed whether their military and political involvement could have an impact on the international situation. Last but not least, the fate of Uyghurs, especially those who left for Syria, was discussed. The latter issue is also a question about Syria, its fate and place in the politics of other countries.

Almost five decades have passed since after the Nigerian civil war that claimed closed to five million lives between Nigerian and Biafran separatists. Yet, rather than learn lessons learnt to forestall peace, it is worrisome that the escalation of terror against state and its institutions has taken heightened dimensions at various times. It is this worry that gave vent to this theoretical paper that utilizes content analysis to explore relevant parameters that are factorial to this dangerous escalation of terror in Nigeria particularly targeting its institutions as helpless soft targets for attack. Consequently, the paper questioned institutional alienation, inequality, and unhealthy politicization of religion and education as largely responsible for the increasing terror attacks. Drawing from these insights, the paper using induction and deduction tools, outlined major ways forward in addressing the menace of terror. Inclusive governance, income redistribution, secularism as a functional state policy and liberalization of access to education according literature, were strong factors that point to solutions that can lead productive engagement and inclusive involvement in governance and decision-making process in order to ultimately encourage the de-escalation of terror attacks against state and its institutions.

Security is an interdisciplinary concept that is important for the existence and development of individual people and entire societies. Many events can cause them anxiety, and this undoubtedly includes a terrorist act, which is inherently evil. Terrorism develops along with the development of civilization, which forces individual countries to constantly improve and modernize the methods of combating this threat. Although, according to research, Polish society is not afraid of terrorist attacks, in the current political situation it should be assumed that Poland may be the target of such attacks. State authorities have created an anti-terrorist system to ensure citizen safety. In which an important role in anti-theorist and counter-terrorist activities was assigned to the Police.

The legal platform for combating terrorism in Poland

This article addresses the issue of terrorism and its counteraction in Polish legislation. Its aim is to demonstrate how Polish law is prepared to prevent terrorist incidents and which agencies and authorities are responsible for these actions. The article applies the method of institutional-legal analysis. Based on it, conclusions can be drawn that Polish legislation is relatively well-prepared to combat terrorism.

Constitutional Challenges to Counter – Terrorism in France: Legal and Political Implications

France, as one of the European countries with a long democratic tradition and strong legal institutions, faces many constitutional challenges in the context of the fight against terrorism. This issue is particularly relevant in the face of the series of terrorist attacks that have shaken the country in recent years, forcing the authorities to introduce numerous extraordinary measures. However, this process is burdened with constitutional complexities, in particular concerning fundamental rights and civil liberties. The aim of this article is to analyze the constitutional challenges and assess their legal and political implications. The article highlights the tension between the imperative of security and the protection of personal freedoms, as enshrined in the French Constitution and international human rights instruments. The article concludes that effectively dealing with constitutional challenges requires a dynamic and balanced approach that integrates the protection of national security with respect for human rights and the principles of the democratic rule of law.

Most politically motivated terrorist incidents in the West are now classified as far-right. The growing threat is confirmed by statistics. In 2010, only one far-right terrorist attack was recorded, compared to 49 in 2019. In the past five years, there have been more than 35 far-right terrorist incidents in the West yearly, and over the past two decades, far-right terrorism has been more fatal than far-left terrorism. The aim of this article is to characterise the far-right terrorism in selected countries, by identifying similarities and differences. The following research problem is central to this analysis: in which regions of the West is far-right terrorism becoming a greater threat than Jihadi-oriented terrorism? Research has shown that despite the low level of casualties caused by far-right terrorists compared to those caused by jihadists, in some regions, the number of fatal far-right attacks has increased by 250% since 2014.

Terrorist attacks are presently one of the most serious threats to human life and security, both for states and individuals. The protection of these assets is one of the most important obligations of the state. Increasingly, this comes at the expense of other goods, such as the protection of freedoms and human rights. This article reflects on the threat of human rights derogation in the context of counter-terrorism regulations currently in force in Poland. International treaties safeguarding the protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights, on a global and regional scale, contain clauses allowing their temporary derogation due to any danger threatening “the life of the nation”. According to these clauses, derogation may be used in emergency situations, when there is clear and present danger for society as a whole and for the functioning of democratic institutions. Terrorist events as defined in the Polish Counter-Terrorism Act, are not qualified as such. Derogation is permissible when certain conditions are met and for a limited period of time, both of which are not clearly defined in the relevant provisions of the Act. As a consequence, the content of a number of these provisions is arguably violating the guarantees prescribed in international treaties.