Main Edition
Gray Zone Tactics and the Principle of Non-Intervention: Can “One of the Vaguest Branches of International Law” Solve the Gray Zone Problem?
Elizabeth K. Kiessling[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] I. Introduction States increasingly use their military forces to execute “gray zone tactics” in pursuit of strategic objectives.[1] These tactics exceed the limits of accepted peacetime competition between states but avoid rising to a level that would warrant a conventional military response.[2] Whether by design, necessity, or chance, these tactics fall somewhere between war and peace on the use-of-force spectrum, though exactly where they fall...
No Oversight, No Limits, No Worries: A Primer on Presidential Spying and Executive Order 12,333
Mark M. Jaycox[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] I. Introduction In 2013, investigative journalists disclosed that the U.S. government had used section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act as authorization for a now-defunct surveillance program that collected the daily call records of Americans from telecommunications companies.[1] Reporting also revealed that section 702 was, and still is, read to authorize the collection of Americans’ information from the telecommunications backbone,[2] even though section...
Pro-Constitutional Engagement
Nino Guruli[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] I. Introduction There is a common refrain in U.S. legal scholarship that an assertive exercise of judicial power in matters of national security jeopardizes established institutional arrangements. In war and national security, the executive takes the lead, with some legislative oversight.[1] The legislative branch is constitutionally empowered and institutionally suited to check executive excesses in war and national security. The argument tends to go...
Bilateral Defense-Related Treaties and the Dilemma Posed by the Law of Neutrality
Jeremy K. Davis[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] I. Introduction In the early morning hours of January 3, 2020, an American MQ-9 Reaper drone fired several missiles into a motor vehicle convoy leaving Baghdad International Airport.[1] Among those killed in the U.S. attack was Major General Qassim Soleimani, Iran's top security and intelligence commander and the leader of the powerful Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[2] U.S. President Donald Trump directed the drone strike in...
Unnamed & Uncharged: Next Friend Standing and the Anonymous Detainee
Scott Harman-Heath[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] Introduction For nearly three months beginning in September 2017, the United States detained a U.S. citizen “unnamed, uncharged, and, despite his request, without access to counsel.”[1] The government asserted that John Doe was detained as an enemy combatant in Iraq and that no party had Article III standing to seek judicial review of Doe’s detention.[2] The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) contested the legality of Doe’s ongoing detention by...
Defending Against the Military: The Posse Comitatus Act’s Exclusionary Rule
Anthony J. Ghiotto[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] Introduction On March 10, 2009, Michael McClendon shot and killed his mother in their hometown of Kinston, Alabama.[1] He then travelled to Samson, Alabama, where he shot and killed five additional family members.[2] McClendon then fled in his vehicle, continuing to shoot other motorists and innocent bystanders all while leading police on a twenty-four mile chase throughout rural Alabama.[3] The chase ended in a police shootout and resulted in...
Online Edition
Why the US Should Ratify UNCLOS: A View from the South and East China Seas
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Five Maritime Security Developments That Will Resonate For A Generation
Captain Brian Wilson discusses treaty developments, trends, successes and challenges in maritime security.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The Lost Dimension: Food Security and the South China Sea Disputes
Food security was a key driver behind the development of the current framework governing the law of the sea. This matters for why–and how–the Chinese are contesting claims in the South China Sea.
Photo courtesy of Reuters.
Drones in the U.S. National Airspace System: A Safety and Security Assessment
3 areas continue to hold our national security at risk and plague drone integration efforts: (1) inadequate safety systems, (2) inadequate statutes, and (3) incomplete threat analyses. The authors discuss each area in detail along with proposed solutions. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Expert Interviews for Drones in the U.S. National Airspace System: A Safety and Security Assessment
Meaningful Transparency: The Missing Numbers the NSA and FISC Should Reveal
Many Americans are skeptical or distrustful of U.S. Government intelligence collection methods. Increasing transparency by presenting additional data in an accessible way could help.
Problematic Alternatives: MLAT Reform for the Digital Age
Data travels across the globe instantly, but the current system for sharing information across jurisdictions is inadequate. Here’s why we need reform, and what that reform should look like. By Jonah Force Hill.
Restricted Reporting on California Military Installations: The Unnecessary and Unwise State Law Exception
The military’s restricted reporting policy for sexual assaults–permitting members of the armed services to seek help without initiating a formal investigation–has helped victims and investigators alike. But state law exceptions, like California’s, counteract some of these gains. Here’s why, and how, the exception should be overturned.