Members of terrorist organisations may be excluded from refugee protection due to their participation in acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the UN (exclusion ground (c)). However, the court practice of EU Member States is divergent in relation to the application the said exclusion ground. Recently, the emerging trend has been to apply the provisions of EU counter terrorism law as guiding the interpretation of the exclusion ground (c). This research responds to the need to clarify to what extent the provisions of EU counter terrorism law may be used for the interpretation of the exclusion ground (c), and the limits such interpretation.

Firstly, the terrorist nature and the acts and activity of terrorist groups are discussed. The establishment of the terrorist nature of an organisation in the exclusion context is affected by the UN and EU lists of terrorist groups. Additionally, different terrorism related acts and activities are listed in the EU Terrorism Directive. These actions may be considered as acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the UN in the meaning of the UNSC resolutions. However, that does not necessarily mean that such actions also conform to the acts regulated in the context of the exclusion ground (c). The application of the exclusion ground (c) requires that an action fulfils a certain gravity threshold. The threshold may be crossed at least then when the action contains indiscriminate violence or violence against civilians, or then when the action has serious implications on international peace and security. Not all terrorism related actions criminalised in the Terrorism Directive conform to these gravity requirements.

Secondly, the serious reasons to consider standard requires that the member of a terrorist organisation was individually responsible for the actions of the organisation so that exclusion may become applicable. International criminal law contains different forms of individual criminal responsibility of which incitement; and aiding and abetting are also regulated in the Terrorism Directive. Some other forms of individual criminal responsibility have been regulated as independent criminal facts in the Terrorism Directive. Additionally, individual responsibility in the Terrorism Directive may exceed even further to the preparative phase than in international criminal law. The individual responsibility emanating from the articles of the Terrorism Directive may correspond to individual responsibility required in the application of the exclusion ground (c). However, the participation of a member of a terrorist group must also fulfil a gravity threshold of substantial participation. The threshold is crossed at least in case leaders of such groups.