Terrorism Abroad: A Quick Look at Applicable Federal and State Laws (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Oct. 3, 2001 |
| Report Number |
RS21034 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Charles Doyle, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Terrorists' attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City and the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania have stimulated demands that
the terrorists responsible and those like them be brought to justice. American criminal law already
proscribes many of these acts of terrorism and there have been proposals to expand that coverage.
Ordinarily, crime is proscribed by the law of the place where it occurs, but more than a few
American criminal laws apply to terrorism committed outside the United States. The power to enact
such laws flows from the Constitution and is usually limited by little more than due process notice.
Practicality and reluctance to offend other nations have traditionally limited American exercise of
such authority to instances where there is a discernible nexus to the United States. Yet where there
is a clear connection to the United States, American criminal law, primarily federal law generally
permits prosecution of terrorism committed overseas.
This report and a companion, CRS Report RS21033(pdf) , Terrorism At Home: A Quick Look
at
Applicable Federal and State Criminal Law , are abbreviated from portions of CRS Report 95-1050(pdf) ,
Terrorism At Home and Abroad: Applicable Federal and State Criminal Laws , stripped
of its
footnotes and appendices.
