Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Popular But Unlawful Armed Reprisal, Mary Ellen O'Connell
The Popular But Unlawful Armed Reprisal, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
The United States and Iran carried out armed reprisals in Syria during 2017 in the wake of chemical and terror attacks. Despite support for their actions even by countries such as Germany and France, retaliatory uses of force are clearly prohibited under international law. International law generally prohibits all use of armed force with narrow exceptions for self-defense, United Nations Security Council authorization, and consent of a government to participate in a civil war. Military force after an incident are reprisals, which have been expressly forbidden by the UN. Prior to the Trump administration, the U.S. consistently attempted to justify …
Utilizing Secondary Sanctions To Curtail The Financing Of The Islamic State, Jimmy Gurule
Utilizing Secondary Sanctions To Curtail The Financing Of The Islamic State, Jimmy Gurule
Journal Articles
This article will discuss existing legislation used to curtail the financing of the Islamic State, the value of imposing secondary sanctions against the terrorist group, and concerns regarding the extraterritorial applications of US sanctions.
The Choice Of Law Against Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell
The Choice Of Law Against Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
The Obama administration has continued to apply the wartime paradigm first developed by the Bush administration after 9/11 to respond to terrorism. In cases of trials before military commissions, indefinite detention, and targeted killing, the U.S. has continued to claim wartime privileges even with respect to persons and situations far from any battlefield. This article argues that both administrations have made a basic error in the choice of law. Wartime privileges may be claimed when armed conflict conditions prevail as defined by international law. These privileges are not triggered by declarations or policy preferences.
Defending Human Rights In The "War" Against Terror, Douglass Cassel
Defending Human Rights In The "War" Against Terror, Douglass Cassel
Journal Articles
Safeguarding human rights in our "war" against terrorism is both the right and the smart thing to do. It is right because human rights embody our fundamental values as Americans and as Christians. Our Constitution stands for freedom; our Creator teaches us to respect the God-given dignity of each human soul. Christians are called to cherish human dignity, not only of innocents, and not only of captives in war whose status as combatant or civilian may be uncertain, but also of cardinal sinners, the terrorists themselves. Christ Jesus teaches us to hate the sin, but somehow to bring ourselves to …
Enhancing The Status Of Non-State Actors Through A Global War On Terror?, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Enhancing The Status Of Non-State Actors Through A Global War On Terror?, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
Soon after September 11, President Bush declared a global war on terrorism and members of terrorist groups "combatants." These declarations are not only generally inconsistent with international law; they also reverse the trend regarding the legal status of international non-state actors. For decades, law-abiding non-state actors, such as international humanitarian aid organizations, enjoyed ever-expanding rights on the international plane. Professor Schachter observed how this trend came at the expense of the nation-state. He also predicted, however, that the nation-state would not fade away any time soon. And, by the late Twentieth Century, the trend toward enhanced status was noticeably slowing. …
Legislative Responses To Terrorism: A View From Britain, Geoffrey Bennett
Legislative Responses To Terrorism: A View From Britain, Geoffrey Bennett
Journal Articles
There is nothing new in the United Kingdom about either the threat of terrorism or a legal response to it. For almost one hundred and fifty years, the troubled spectre of Irish politics has haunted mainland Britain and produced a variety of reactions, some worth noting and others richly deserving oblivion. In surveying the legislation it is important to bear in mind that the events of September 11, 2001 did not immediately bring about any dramatic change in the legislation directed to anti-terrorism. Most of it was already there. Having said that, the events of 9/11 have certainly had an …
When Is A War Not A War? The Myth Of The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell
When Is A War Not A War? The Myth Of The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
It is essential to correctly classify situations in the world as ones of war or peace: human lives depend on the distinction, but so do liberty, property, and the integrity of the natural environment. President Bush's war on terror finds war where suspected members of al Qaeda are found. By contrast, war under international law exists where hostilities are on-going. To the extent there is ambiguity, the United States should err on the side of pursuing terrorists within the peacetime criminal law enforcement paradigm, not a wartime one. Not only does the criminal law better protect important human rights and …
Affirming The Ban On Harsh Interrogation, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Affirming The Ban On Harsh Interrogation, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
Beginning in 2002, lawyers for the Bush Administration began producing the now infamous legal memoranda on the subject of interrogation. The memoranda advise interrogators that they can torture people without fear of prosecution in connection with the so-called global war on terror. Much has been and will be written about the expedient and erroneous legal analysis of the memos. One issue at risk of being overlooked, however, because the memos emphasize torture, is that the United States must respect limits far short of torture in the conduct of interrogations. The United States may not use any form of coercion against …
The Globalization Of Human Rights: Consciousness, Law And Reality, Douglass Cassel
The Globalization Of Human Rights: Consciousness, Law And Reality, Douglass Cassel
Journal Articles
Human rights have suffered sharp setbacks in the four years since the paper that follows was delivered in London in the summer of 2000. The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and the Bush Administration’s ensuing “war on terrorism,” have led not only to a demotion of human rights on the list of American foreign policy priorities, but also to gross violations of human rights by Washington. Among other recent assaults on the rule of law are the prolonged detentions of hundreds of prisoners without trial or due process of law at the United States Naval …
The Legal Case Against The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell
The Legal Case Against The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
In the first confusing days after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush declared a war on terror. Many of us heard this declaration as stirring rhetoric to rally the nation. We understood it as a declaration that the President would direct a strong response against those responsible. We had heard this sort of rhetoric before when the nation faced powerful challenges-from illegal drugs and chronic poverty. Many of us understood President Bush's declaration of war to refer once again to the determined, persistent struggle to overcome a social blight-this time terrorism. We did …
To Kill Or Capture Suspects In The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell
To Kill Or Capture Suspects In The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
Presents a speech by law professor Mary Ellen O'Connell, delivered at the Case Western Reserve School of Law's War Crimes Research Symposium, February 28, 2003. Legal implications of pursuing terror suspects using military action by the U.S. government; Components of armed conflict; Analysis of the United States' involvement in the internal armed conflict in the Philippines.
Lawful Self-Defense To Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Lawful Self-Defense To Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell
Journal Articles
On October 7,2001, the United States and the United Kingdom launched operation Enduring Freedom. Enduring Freedom was a massive aerial and land operation on the territory of Afghanistan in response to the September 11 terror attacks on the United States. The two governments justified Enduring Freedom as an exercise of lawful self-defense. This article examines the elements of self-defense, applying them to Enduring Freedom. At the outset, Enduring Freedom did indeed meet the conditions of lawful self-defense, but later stages of the operation may have gone beyond the bounds of proportionality. The article also looks at the alternatives to self-defense …
On Clandestine Warfare, Robert E. Rodes
On Clandestine Warfare, Robert E. Rodes
Journal Articles
Common moral judgments on many types of clandestine warfare, referred to by some as terrorism, seem to be more nuanced and less severe than our current legal judgments. This paper begins by offering a detailed typology of clandestine operations and measures to combat them, a few general reflections on the laws of war, and a critique of those laws as they now stand. It then proposes a substantial revision of the laws which govern clandestine warfare based on four basic principles of the laws and the morality of just war: the independence of jus in bello from the jus ad …