Martial Law as a Counterterrorism Response to Terrorist Attacks: Domestic and International Legal Dimensions

This article examines the extent to which severe U.S. counterterronsm measures, such as martial law, would fare by domestic and international legal standards. The primary concern in this article is with the indefinite detention of American citizens and noncitizens by executive order, without judicial oversight, under the executive branch's military authority. The article beginswith a discussion of the U.S.jurisprudence on emergency authority. The second part of the article examines the international legal regime regarding the suspension of civil liberties or human rights during times of national emergency; in this part of the article, selected U.S. counterterrorism measures are compared with international legal standards. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these international standards for U.S. domestic law.