Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

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Key definition

Terrorism definition

What does Terrorism mean? In legal practice, terrorism describes the use or threat of serious harmful acts intended to influence government or intimidate the public, carried out for a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. In the UK, the statutory definition in the Terrorism Act 2000 covers action involving serious violence, serious damage to property, endangering life, creating a serious risk to public health or safety, or serious interference with or disruption of an electronic system; it has extra‑territorial reach. The concept underpins offences of preparation, encouragement, membership and support of proscribed organisations, terrorist financing and asset‑freezing, and powers such as arrest, detention and...

Terrorism risk allocation and insurance in UK construction projects: statutory definitions, Pool Re coverage, and JCT, NEC and FIDIC provisions

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Practice notes

What is Terrorism?

The Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993 (R(AT)A 1993) characterised terrorism as acts by persons acting for, or connected with, any organisation whose activities are directed towards overthrowing or influencing, by force or violence, His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom or any other government, whether De jure or De facto (section 2(2)).

The Terrorism Act 2000 (TA 2000), later amended by the Terrorism Act 2006 (TA 2006) and the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (CTA 2008), reframed the concept. Under this legislation, terrorism includes actions that:

involve serious violence against a person
cause serious damage to property
endanger someone’s life (other than that of the terrorist)
pose a risk to the health or safety of the public
are intended seriously to interfere with or disrupt an electronic system

The purpose behind such actions is to influence the government or an international government organisation, or to intimidate the public or a section of it, and they must be undertaken to advance a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause. The definition contained in the 2000 Act, as updated, is considerably broader...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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