Law Commons^™

Terrorism And The Right Of Self-Defence: Rethinking Of Legal And Policy Issues, Abdul Ghafur Hamid Dr.

Abdul Ghafur Hamid Dr.

Self-defence has long been understood as a right applicable only in an inter-State armed conflict. After September 11, however, there have been attempts to widen the scope of self defence to include attacks by terrorists - non-State actors. This paper reappraises the legal and policy considerations that promote a right of self-defence against terrorists, or against States havouring terrorists. The paper advocates three main arguments: (1) that ‘armed attack’ as required under Article 51 must come from a State or at least the attack must be attributable to the State to the extent that it is taken as the act …

Marginal Refuge: The Ramifications Of Terrorism For An Unsustainable United States Asylum Policy, Michael D. Yanovsky Sukenik

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Seizing The Grotian Moment: Accelerated Formation Of Customary International Law In Times Of Fundamental Change, Michael P. Scharf

Cornell International Law Journal

Growing out of the author's experience as Special Assistant to the International Prosecutor of the Cambodia Genocide Tribunal in 2008, this article examines the concept of "Grotian Moment," a term the author uses to denote a paradigm-shifting development in which new rules and doctrines of customary international law emerge with unusual rapidity and acceptance. The article argues that the paradigm-shifting nature of the Nuremberg precedent, and the universal and unqualified endorsement of the Nuremberg Principles by the U.N. General Assembly in 1946, resulted in accelerated formation of customary international law, including the mode of international criminal responsibility now known as …

A New Clear And Present Danger: Security, Freedom And Ordered Liberty On The Home Front During The War Against Terrorism, Beau James Brock

Beau James Brock

Regardless of the foreign policy rationalizations for failing to respond to Osama Bin Laden’s declaration of war against the United States prior to September 11th, we are faced with a de facto state of war, for over a full decade now, that will require an ever vigilant and determined commitment in order to secure the domestic security of our land. The use of available technology to break through our opponents’ intelligence networks has been a vital instrument of victory in past wars and will be in this struggle we now face. But, where is the line marking appropriate federal action …

Unequal Treatment Of United States Citizens: Eroding The Constitutional Safeguards, Irma Alicia Cabrera Ramirez

Golden Gate University Law Review

This comment examines the unequal treatment of United States citizens who are labeled enemy combatants by looking at the factual and procedural background of Padilla, Hamdi and Lindh. Next, this comment examines the origins of the label enemy combatant and the constitutional safeguards afforded to criminal defendants in similar situations as Padilla, Hamdi,and Lindh. The terrorist acts Padilla, Hamdi, and Lindh are accused of involve international laws. Therefore, this comment will examine the Geneva Conventions as a means to understand humanitarian protections that may cover Padilla and Hamdi. Finally, this comment will provide recommendations for some of the issues raised.

Jurisdiction, Terrorism And The Rule Of International Law, Sompong Sucharitkul

Golden Gate University Law Review

In October 2001, approximately one month after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Golden Gate University Law Professor Sompong Sucharitkul spoke to the students of Golden Gate University and others on the topic of jurisdiction, terrorism and the rule of international law. The following is an excerpt from the speech given by Golden Gate University Law Professor Sompong Sucharitkul.

“Bring[Ing] Our Enemies To Justice”: Terrorism And The Court, Anna Elazan

Legislation and Policy Brief

This article focuses on the venue of Mohammad’s trial and is broken into three sections. The first section reviews the historical use of military tribunals. This section begins by looking at the basis for Presidential authority to authorize the use of military commissions. This section then outlines the first use of military commissions since World War II. President George W. Bush’s authorization parallels the provisions in President Franklin Roosevelt’s authorization of the use of commissions in the 1940s. However, following authorization, the military commissions were subject to judicial challenges and significant revision by Congress. Finally, this section tracks recent developments …

Can Cia Interrogators Relying Upon Government Counsel Advice Be Prosecuted For Torture?, Adam M. Hochroth

Adam M Hochroth

In the spring of 2002, the CIA sought advice from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) regarding an interrogation program for high-level al Qaeda detainees. The proposed program included the use of techniques such as walling, stress positions, confinement, sleep deprivation and waterboarding. On August 1, 2002, the OLC provided two memoranda of advice to the CIA on the lawfulness of the proposed program and the specific techniques intended. The OLC advised that the program and the techniques were lawful and did not constitute torture within the meaning of the Torture Statute, 18 U.S.C. §§2340–2340A. This article considers whether interrogators …

Applicable Law In International Terrorist Threats And Attacks And The Consequences Of Error In Personam, Somcharti Sucharitkul

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The objective of this paper is neither to reiterate the diversity of definitions nor to corroborate a particular position on the concept of international terrorism but to facilitate the search for the definition of international terrorism, which seems to be of immediate and urgent priority in the context of 21 st century globalization. In my attempt to identify the contemporary core terrorist threat, I will first focus on a model of distinction based on the applicable law in Part I. I will discuss why this model is appropriate and compatible with the trends of international law dealing with international terrorism. …

Fictitious States, Effective Control, And The Use Of Force, Brian C. Finucane

Brian C Finucane

This Article examines the security threat posed by “fictitious” states and non-state actors as well as the legal regime governing military responses to this threat. As the Article explains, many of the world’s states are legal fictions because they lack the key feature of statehood in international law: the effective control of their nominal populations and territories. Although the problem is most vividly illustrated by the United States’ ongoing conflict with Al Qa’ida in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, the problem is far broader. In fact effective states which control all of their territory and population are in fact anomalous. As …

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Wesley Macneil Oliver In Support Of The Petition For Writ Of Certiorari, Wesley Oliver

Wesley M Oliver

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that a lawsuit could proceed against John Ashcroft in his individual capacity for the way he detained material witnesses after the Terror of September 11, 2001. Ashcroft allegedly used those he believed to be terrorist suspects as material witnesses when he lacked adequate suspicion to bring formal charges. All of these “witnesses” otherwise qualified for detention under the federal material witness detention statute. The Ninth Circuit concluded that this “pretextual” use of the material witness detention statute clearly violated the Fourth Amendment as it circumvented the probable cause …

The First Amendment Protects Military Funeral Protests, Timothy Zick

Popular Media

Military funeral protests are offensive, but protected free speech.

Role Of Individuals Discrimination In Free Exercise Claims: Putting Iqbal In Its Place, The, Leila Mcneill

Missouri Law Review

Ashcroft v. Iqbal has been widely discussed for three reasons: (1) its extension of Twombly's pleading standard to cases outside the realm of antitrust suits, (2) its application of the collateral order doctrine to a district court order denying an official's motion to dismiss on the basis of qualified immunity in a Bivens claim, and (3) its implication for national security and postSeptember 11th terrorist detainments and investigations. However, Iqbal also implicates the nature of what constitutes unconstitutional religious discrimination under the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. Therefore, the Iqbal Court's discussion of religious liberty will present problems of interpretation …

The Somali Piracy Problem: A Global Puzzle Necessitating A Global Solution, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Over the past few years, piracy has exploded off the coast of Somalia. Somali pirates congregate on a "mother ship" and then divide into smaller groups that sail out on tiny skiffs. Using potent weapons such as AK-47s and hand-propelled grenades, Somali pirates attack civilian ships carrying cargo through the Gulf of Aden, a body of water between Yemen and Somalia. Once they have overtaken the victim vessel, the pirates typically hijack the vessel's cargo and kidnap the crewmembers. The cargo is often resold to willing buyers or held for ransom. The crew are kept hostage in Somalia until either …

Spot Off: The Gao Takes On The Tsa’S Behavior Detection Program, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently Issued Efforts to Validate TSA’s Passenger Screening Behavior Detection Program Underway, but Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Validation and Address Operational Problems (May 2010, GAO-10-763). This IBPP article will describe and comment on the main GAO findings and additional data on which the findings are based. The article will end with some basic challenges to behavior detection as a useful security measure.

Terrorism And The Law: Show Trials And Why The Show Must Go On, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the nature and meaning of terrorism trials during the United States’ war on terror.

Missing In Action: Prisoners Of War At Guantanamo Bay, Jerica M. Morris-Frazier

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The United States of America has presented a national and international image of fairness, justice, and humane treatment of others, while abiding by the laws to which it is bound. However, the reputation of the United States has been tarnished by its seemingly prolonged internment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. After reports of torture, sexual degradation, and the refusal to apply prisoner of war status to any of the detainees the world is looking to the United States for answers and demanding changes to the current situation at Guantanamo Bay. This paper focuses on the lack of application of prisoner …

Rise Of The Drones: Unmanned Systems And The Future Of War, Kenneth Anderson

Congressional and Other Testimony

This document is written testimony submitted to the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, for a hearing under the general title of "Rise of the Drones: Unmanned Systems and the Future of War." The hearing covered military, strategic, technological, and economic issues related to unmanned aerial vehicles in military, intelligence, and civilian commercial use. This written testimony addressed certain international law and legal policy issues raised by the use of drones as a means of projecting force. It is primarily addressed to the question of the CIA campaign of drone attacks in Pakistan and beyond, rather than the use …

Why Terrorism? Whose Terror?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author considers terrorism as a competitor for the legally constituted authority and power of governments.

On The Contemporary Meaning Of Korematsu: "Liberty Lies In The Hearts Of Men And Women", David A. Harris

David A Harris

ABSTRACT ON THE CONTEMPORARY MEANING OF KOREMATSU: “LIBERTY LIES IN THE HEARTS OF MEN AND WOMEN” In just a few years, seven decades will have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Korematsu v. U.S., one of the most reviled of all of the Court’s cases. Despised or not, however, similarities between the World War II era and our own have people looking at Korematsu in a new light. When the Court decided Korematsu in 1944, we were at war with the Japanese empire, and with this came considerable suspicion of anyone who shared the ethnicity of our foreign …

Comparative Perspectives On Specialized Trials For Terrorism, Sudha Setty

Faculty Scholarship

On the campaign trail in 2008, presidential candidate and then-Senator Barack Obama promised to restore America’s place in the world by breaking with many of the national security policies put into effect by President George W. Bush. In January 2009, President Obama made numerous changes to United States foreign policy, including signing an executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and announcing that the United States would not engage in interrogation techniques that constitute torture. In some respects, however, Obama has followed the example of President Bush - for example, in his resuscitation of a specialized military …

Preempting Justice: Precrime In Fiction And In Fact, Mark Niles

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Searching For Remedial Paradigms: Human Rights In The Age Of Terrorism, Frances Howell Rudko

Faculty Publications

Nine years after the unprecedented terrorist attacks on September 11, judicial response to various governmental and individual methods of combating terrorism remains deferential and restrained. The courts have heard at least three types of cases brought by advocates for three distinct groups: the alleged perpetrators of terrorism; the victims of terrorist attacks; and third party humanitarian groups. Implicit in the practical question of how to deal effectively with terrorism is the broader consideration which Congress, the President and others must also address: how to respond to the terrorists' extreme human rights violations without violating international humanitarian law.

Should Citizens Be Democratically Represented In The 21st Century International System?, Andrew Strauss

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Democracy is increasingly the sine quo non of legitimate governance at the local, provincial and national levels.

Is There Something Rotten In The State Of Jus Ad Bellum? State Responses To Terrorism And The Jus Ad Bellum., Ian Foss

Ian Foss

The so-called “War on Terror”, commenced by the United States following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, will be never-ending because it is a war against an ideology. However, part in parcel of this ideological fight is an identifiable target: non-state actors (read: terrorists), generally, and al Qaeda, specifically. Traditionally, war occurred between two or more States, which, as subjects of international law, were bound by the rules of jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and the law of belligerent occupation. Not since the Peace of Westphalia, as the birth of State sovereignty, has the concept been seriously called …

A Dark Descent Into Reality: The Case For An Objective Definition Of Torture, Michael W. Lewis

Michael W. Lewis

Abstract The definition of torture is broken. The malleability of the term “severe pain or suffering” at the heart of the definition has created a situation in which the world agrees on the words but cannot agree on their meaning. The “I know it when I see it” nature of the discussion of torture makes it clear that the definition is largely left to the eye of the beholder. This is particularly problematic when international law’s reliance on self-enforcement is considered. After discussing current common misconceptions about intelligence gathering and coercion that are common to all sides of the torture …

Bringing The Spies In From The Cold: Legal Cosmopolitanism, And Intelligence Under The Laws Of War, Peyton A. Cooke

Peyton A. Cooke

Recently, as never before, intelligence operations have come under international humanitarian law. The Supreme Court has handed down the Hamdan and Boumediene decisions; President Obama has required the CIA and other interrogators to abide by Geneva Conventions Common Article 3 standards for all interrogations; district courts have declared stringent law of war criteria for overseas detentions; the Executive has applied the laws of war to terrorist targeting; and the private groups which have initiated this litigation, and pressed for these changes, continue to work for even more reform. This paper addresses the roots and effects of such changes. It begins …

Remodeling The Classified Information Procedures Act (Cipa), Afsheen John Radsan

Faculty Scholarship

The intelligence community and the law enforcement sector are supposed to be working closely to keep us all safe from terrorists and other dangers. The benefits of this cooperation should not be frittered away by unnecessary burdens in trying suspected terrorists in civilian courts. If the executive branch is to be kept away from the dark side of counterterrorism, the courts, Congress, or a combination of the two should modernize their approach to alignment, to Section 6 of Classified Information Procedures Act, and to closed portions of trials.

First, a prosecutor’s discovery obligations should apply to the intelligence community only …

John Brown's Constitution, Robert L. Tsai

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

It will surprise many Americans to learn that before John Brown and his men briefly captured Harper’s Ferry, they authored and ratified a Provisional Constitution. This deliberative act built upon the achievements of the group to establish a Free Kansas, during which time Brown penned an analogue to the Declaration of Independence. These acts of writing, coupled with Brown’s trial tactics after his arrest, cast doubts on claims that the man was a lunatic or on a suicide mission. Instead, they suggest that John Brown aimed to be a radical statesman, one who turned to extreme tactics but nevertheless remained …

Foreword, Kenneth M. Karas

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.