U.S. Court
Issues Writ of Mandamus, Effectively Removing Organization from Terror List: In
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ILIB
In Re People's Mojahedin Org. of Iran (June 1, 2012)
Click here for
document (approximately 12 pages)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has
ordered the U.S. Secretary of State to make a decision within four months on
the petition filed by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
("PMOI") to be removed from the Foreign Terrorist Organization
("FTO") list. If the Secretary fails to either deny or grant the
petition, then the Court will grant the PMOI's writ of mandamus to set aside
the FTO designation.
A writ of mandamus is a common law writ "issued by a
superior court to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform
mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly" (see Black's Law
Dictionary). Courts rarely issue the writ, which the Court here also
acknowledged: "The 'issuance of the writ is an extraordinary remedy,
reserved only for the most transparent violations of a clear duty to
act.'"
At the heart of this case is the Antiterrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act ("AEDPA"), which authorizes the Secretary of State
to designate an entity an FTO if specific conditions are fulfilled. Once an
entity is designated, its assets are frozen, its members are barred from
entering the United States, and those who knowingly provide "material
support or resources" to the FTO can be fined and/or imprisoned for up to
fifteen years. Before 2004, the FTO designation lasted for two years;
thereafter, the Secretary could either renew it or allow it to lapse. In 2004,
the two-year limitation was removed, meaning that now designations do not
lapse; instead, an FTO can file a petition for revocation with the Secretary to
challenge the listing. The petition must include evidence showing that the
relevant circumstances that led to the designation have sufficiently changed.
The Secretary has 180 days to review the petition and approve or deny it on the
basis of both classified and declassified information. If the petition is
denied, the FTO can seek judicial review within thirty days of the denial.
In this case, the PMOI filed a petition for revocation in
2008 of its 2003 designation, including in its petition the necessary evidence
to demonstrate that the circumstances within the organization that led to the
original designation had dramatically changed. PMOI's petition was denied in
2009, and PMOI timely petitioned the Court for review. The Court held that the
procedures did not provide PMOI due process, and it directed the Secretary to
provide PMOI access to unclassified documents on which she relied in her
decision. However, since the July 2010 order, the Secretary has failed to
provide PMOI with the additional documents. PMOI then petitioned the Court for
the issuance of a writ of mandamus.
While the Court refused to immediately revoke the FTO
designation "in light of the national security and foreign policy
concerns," it openly criticized the government's slow progress in this
case, finding "the Secretary's delay in acting on PMOI's petition for
revocation . . . egregious." The Court ordered the Secretary to either
deny or grant PMOI's petition not later than four months from the date of the
opinion; and "if she fails to take action within that period, the petition
for writ of mandamus setting aside the FTO designation will be granted."
Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the
Russian Federation and the Government of the United States of America on
Cooperation in Antarctica (Sept. 8, 2012)
Click
here for document (approximately 1 page); click here for
U.S. Department of State Fact Sheet (approximately 1 page)
The United States and Russia have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding for Cooperation in Antarctica ("MOU") and issued Joint
Statements on Pursuing a Transboundary Area of Shared Beringian Heritage and on
Enhancing Interregional Cooperation.
According to the accompanying U.S. Department of State Fact
Sheet, the MOU will "[s]trengthen cooperation and significantly improve
coordination of bilateral policies, science, logistics, search and rescue,
training, and public outreach in Antarctica" and "reinforce
cooperative activities already taking place."
The parties, guided by the Antarctic Treaty of December 1,
1959, have agreed "to consult regularly through their respective Foreign
Ministries on issues of common interest concerning implementation of the Treaty
and other elements of the Antarctic Treaty system," "to cooperate in
the organization and conduct of joint inspections in the Treaty area under
Article VII of the Treaty and Article 14 of the Protocol on Environmental
Protection to the Antarctic Treaty," "to encourage organization and
implementation of joint projects and programs for research and exploration of
Antarctica," "to promote collaboration in scientific research and
logistical and support activities between their respective national Antarctic
program managers," and "to facilitate scientific cooperation in the
Treaty area and the exchange of associated data in important areas of
scientific research."
The MOU is a non-binding instrument that "does not
constitute an international agreement or give rise to any rights and
obligations for the Parties under international law.
International
Judicial Monitor