Reading Room Document

The President's power as Commander in Chief to transfer captured terrorists to the control and custody of foreign nations

This opinion considers the legality of transferring captured members of the Taliban militia, al Qaeda, or other terrorist organizations from U.S. custody to other countries. The opinion concludes that while transferring detainees held outside of the U.S. would not violate the Constitution or relevant international law, such as the Geneva Convention and the Torture Convention, a more complex set of rules would apply if detainees are held within the territory of the United States in the future. This opinion was partially rescinded in 2009. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/docs/memorandum03132002.pdf.

March 13, 2002