(3) In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court 
held that military detention is justified only to pre-
vent a combatant’s return to the battlefield. 
(4) The Geneva Conventions, other binding 
treaties regulating the conduct of hostilities, and the 
customary laws of war offer an appropriate legal 
framework for the detention and internment of com-
batants and civilians in zones of active military oper-
ations in international armed conflicts. Congress 
does not seek to subject detentions within this 
framework to the oversight of United States courts 
to the extent they are not already subject to such 
oversight. 
(5) Zones of active military operations do not 
necessarily correspond to national boundaries. 
(6) Outside of zones of active military oper-
ations, the President claims the authority to detain 
persons who were part of, or substantially sup-
ported, Taliban or Al Qaeda forces or associated 
forces that are engaged in hostilities against the 
United States or its coalition partners, including any 
person who has committed a belligerent act, or has 
directly supported hostilities in aid of such enemy 
armed forces. 
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(7) Some United States courts have adopted a 
narrower view of the President’s authority to detain 
enemy forces, leaving the President’s detention au-
thority outside of active military operations unde-
fined and vulnerable to challenge. This lack of defi-
nition is dangerous both to Taliban and Al Qaeda 
forces and to associated forces, including foreign ter-
rorist forces that are cobelligerents of the Taliban or 
Al Qaeda. 
(8) There exist no agreed-upon substantive or 
procedural standards in United States courts to gov-
ern the detention of individuals arrested outside of 
zones of active military operations. 
(9) In some instances, the executive branch 
may prefer to subject even combatants in zones of 
active military operations to more rigorous judicial 
review than the laws of war require at the outset of 
a detention out of concern to avoid lengthy habeas 
corpus litigation leading ultimately both to adverse 
judgments in specific cases and adverse develop-
ments in the law. 
(10) A set of rigorous, fair, and flexible judicial 
procedures to govern the detention of non-United 
States persons who pose an imperative threat to se-
curity are necessary to promote regularity and legal 
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certainty in American detention policy, as well as to 
ensure that detainees receive timely and predictable 
access to judicial review based on known procedures 
and substantive standards. 
SEC. 202. DETENTION CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES. 
(a) DETERMINATION OF THREAT.—For covered indi-
viduals taken into custody, as of the date of enactment 
of this Act, the President shall make a specific determina-
tion as to whether the covered individual poses a danger 
to the security and interests of the United States based 
on the criteria in subsection (b). An individual who meets 
any of the criteria contained in subsection (b) shall con-
stitute an imperative threat to the interests of the United 
States and, thus, is detainable under this Act. 
(b) DETENTION CRITERIA.—The President shall 
make such a determination, on a case-by-case basis, using 
the following criteria: 
(1) The covered individual is an agent of a for-
eign power. 
(2) That foreign power is one against which the 
use of military force was authorized under the Au-
thorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 
107–40; 115 Stat. 224; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note). 
(3) The actions of the covered individual, in his 
capacity as an agent of the foreign power described 
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in paragraphs (1) and (2) pose a danger both to any 
person and to the interests of the United States. 
(c) INITIAL DETENTION OF NON-UNITED STATES 
PERSONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Government may de-
tain, for not more than 14 days, a covered individual 
who the President reasonably believes meets the re-
quirements under subsection (b). 
(2) ARREST
NOTICE.—The Government shall 
promptly present to any covered individual detained 
under subsection (a)— 
(A) a notice of arrest that includes the rea-
sons for which the covered individual is being 
detained; 
(B) a notice that detention under sub-
section (a) shall be for not more than 14 days; 
(C) a notice that the Government may 
apply for a detention order under section 4; and 
(D) an explanation of the laws and proce-
dures governing such an application and deten-
tion order, including the right of the detainee to 
counsel in connection with such proceedings. 
(3) INFORMATION PROVIDED.—All information 
provided a covered individual under paragraph (2) 
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shall be provided to the covered individual in a lan-
guage understood by the covered individual. 
(4) END OF INITIAL DETENTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days 
after the date on which the Government detains 
a covered individual under subsection (a), the 
Government shall initiate proceedings under 
section 203, initiate proceedings under another 
legal authority, release the covered individual, 
lawfully transfer the covered individual to a for-
eign government, or transfer the covered indi-
vidual to an international tribunal that has ju-
risdiction to hold a trial of such detainee. 
(B) PROCEEDINGS
PENDING.—The Gov-
ernment may continue to detain a covered indi-
vidual under this Act while any proceeding 
under section 203 is pending before the District 
Court and during the pendency of an appeal by 
the Government of a decision in a proceeding 
under section 203. 
SEC. 203. DETENTION PROCEEDINGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) DETERMINATION.—Upon petition by the 
Government, the District Court shall determine 
whether a covered individual meets the requirements 
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