Anti-Terrorism Legislation
A Road Map for Congress to Address Domestic Terrorism
On Feb. 15, federal law enforcement arrested U.S.
Latest in Anti-Terrorism Legislation
On Feb. 15, federal law enforcement arrested U.S.
President Donald Trump quietly signed the bipartisan Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 (ATCA) into law on Oct. 3. Described as a “carefully balanced approach to better ensure victims’ access to compensation and hold supporters of terrorism accountable” by its principal author, Sen.
In late 2014, the General Court of the European Union (GC) annulled, on due process grounds, several measures that kept Hamas and the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) on the EU terrorism sanctions list.
Last month, the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) passed comprehensive legislation overhauling domestic counterterrorism authorities. When it enters into force in November, the new Counterterrorism Law will replace or amend a host of existing criminal and administrative measures, some dating back to the British Mandate.
On Friday, February 19, the Constitutional Council upheld two articles of the state-of-emergency law—meeting bans and warrantless searches—as constitutional, but struck down a provision allowing the police to copy data when conducting such searches. Separately, the French Parliament extended the state of emergency through the end of May.
The National Assembly voted this week to adopt an amendment that would enshrine the state of emergency in the French Constitution and extend denaturalization to dual-nationals born in France who are convicted of terrorism.
The vote in the National Assembly was 317 for, 199 against, with 55 abstentions. The Senate is expected to take up the bill in mid-March—for constitutional reforms, a four-week delay is required between reviews by each house.
On December 27, China’s National People’s Congress passed the country’s much-debated anti-terrorism legislation.
The United Kingdom's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson, has released his annual report on the operation of the U.K.'s Terrorism Acts of 2000 and 2006.
From Anderson:
The Guantanamo detainee, as readers likely know, argued in a February motion that the end of the United States' war in Afghanistan, as recognized by President Obama, requires his release from Guantanamo. On Wednesday, Al-Warafi filed his reply brief on that issue. It opens as follows:
The Global Legal Research Center at the Law Library of Congress recently released a report describing the legal frameworks that the United Nations, European Union, and 73 countries have adopted or are considering adopting for dealing with foreign terrorist fighters.