Chinmayi Sharma is a Scholar in Residence at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law and a Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Her research and teaching focus on cybersecurity law and policy.
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On Sept. 13, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the United Kingdom’s bulk data-collection programs violate human-rights law by failing to incorporate adequate privacy safeguards and oversight—but that mass surveillance and intelligence sharing did not violate international law.
This Tuesday, the Supreme Court held in Jesner et al. v. Arab Bank, PLC that the federal courts are not available to aliens in actions against foreign corporations.
In a 5-4 vote, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing the majority opinion, the court affirmed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s dismissal of the case and held that aliens cannot bring suit under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) against foreign corporations.
Procedural History
In an unexpected move, the Democratic National Convention turned political reprobation for election interference into formal legal action alleging conspiracy.
On March 23, the Trump administration released a new order restricting the ability of transgender individuals to serve in the military.
Last month, Congress extended the Dec. 31 deadline to reauthorize Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act until Jan. 19. With 10 days to go and an expected flurry of legislative activity before a final bill passes and is signed, Lawfare will be collating relevant documents, including draft bills and amendments, on this resource page.
On Nov. 8, the House Judiciary Committee passed, 27-8, a revised version of the USA Liberty Act of 2017 with several amendments. Below is a summary of the bill the committee passed, including key changes.
NOTE: This post summarizes the text of Sen. Richard Burr's bill as it stood before a closed committee markup hearing on Oct. 25. An updated bill is now available here.