"Truth is pre-decided"

A state may establish a yardstick—for example, by labeling armed groups as terrorists or, historically, by labeling anti-colonial movements as rebels—and then use that yardstick to judge cases.

This raises an important distinction between:

institutional classification (how a government legally classifies conduct), and

independent evaluation (whether that classification is justified under broader legal, historical, or moral standards).

Governments do establish legal categories within their jurisdictions. However, scholars, courts, and international bodies may critically examine whether those categories are applied consistently, whether they accord with applicable law, and whether the underlying standards themselves are justified.

In other words, a legal label does not automatically settle the underlying historical, legal, or moral question. That is precisely why classifications such as "terrorist," "rebel," "combatant," or "freedom fighter" are often debated in scholarship and international law rather than treated as self-proving truths.