Last episode we looked at completed terrorist acts, and why they attract such large sentences, however cases involving completed terrorist acts are rare, indeed the first one in Victoria was in 2019.

Most terrorism cases which come before the Supreme Court occur before an act of terrorism has taken place. They’re preparatory offenses, that is, preparing to commit a terrorist act or conspiring to prepare for a terrorist act. 

In this episode we look at the difficult problem of how far back is the right time to criminalise preparatory offenses. Too far back and you confront the idea of thought crimes. Too late and the results may well be horrendous. 

Hear from judges, defense and prosecution barristers and find out how these cases are argued and what happens when they come to the Supreme Court. 

Links to cases discussed in this episode.

The Queen v Cerantonio & Ors

R v Fattal & Ors

 

 

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