| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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In an effort to answer these questions, this book explores the investigative detention capabilities of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. One obvious purpose in endeavoring to compare counterterrorism legislation in these various countries is to provide useful information for those conducting joint international counterterrorism operations. A proper understanding of which laws best facilitate the capture of counterterrorism targets―and the manner in which they function―is critical in the planning of such operations so that the various partners in such an enterprise understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of the laws in each jurisdiction.
An equally important purpose of such a comparison, however, is served by looking to the legal systems of each country to determine whether the capabilities of each detention regime are exportable to other legal systems or―at the very least―if those capabilities can somehow inform domestic counterterrorism policy. In undertaking to explicate the investigative detention laws of each country relevant to this study, this book reveals that, in spite of some recent adaptations, overall, U.S. law is far less permissive than U.K. and French law in the ability to detain and interrogate terrorist suspects. Legislative modifications in the United States are, nonetheless, possible, which could serve to increase U.S. detention powers and “narrow the gap” that exists between the United States and our European allies―all in a way that is consistent with international human rights law, the U.S. criminal model, and the U.S. constitutional tradition.
Background
On January 9, 2003, a U.S. naval officer, Vice Admiral Lowell E. Jacoby, completed a declaration that would be submitted as part of the record in the matter of Jose Padilla v. George W. Bush, et al.2 The United States, still reeling from the attacks of September 11, 2001, was engaged in an aggressive new counterterrorism strategy. Federal agents had captured and detained Jose Padilla―a U.S. citizen―because it was suspected that he was engaged in terrorist activity. The suspect had been, thereafter,