I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4035
To authorize the President to establish military tribunals to try the terrorists
responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United
States, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 20, 2002
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. SCOTT, and Mr. DELAHUNT)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To authorize the President to establish military tribunals
to try the terrorists responsible for the September 11,
2001 attacks against the United States, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Tribunal Au-
thorization Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The al Qaeda terrorist organization and its
leaders have committed unlawful attacks against the
United States, including the August 7, 1998 bomb-
ings of the United States embassies in Nairobi,
Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the October
12, 2000 attack on the USS Cole and the September
11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
(2) The al Qaeda terrorist organization and its
leaders have threatened renewed attacks on the
United States and have threatened the use of weap-
ons of mass destruction.
(3) In violation of the resolutions of the United
Nations, the Taliban of Afghanistan provided a safe
haven to the al Quaeda terrorist organization and its
leaders and allowed the territory of that country to
be used as a base from which to sponsor inter-
national terrorist operations.
(4) The United Nations Security Council, in
Resolution 1267, declared in 1999 that the actions
of the Taliban constitute a threat to international
peace and security.
(5) The United Nations Security Council, in
Resolutions 1368 and 1373, declared in September
2001 that the September 11 attacks against the
(10) Military trials that provide basic proce-
dural guarantees of fairness, consistent with the
international law of armed conflict and the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(opened for signature December 16, 1966), would
garner the support of the community of nations.
(11) Article I, section 8, of the Constitution
provides that the Congress, not the President, has
the power to ‘‘constitute Tribunals inferior to the
Supreme Court; . . . define and punish . . . Offenses
against the Law of Nations; . . . make Rules con-
cerning Captures on Land and Water; . . . make all
Laws which shall be necessary and proper for car-
rying into Execution the foregoing Powers and all
other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Gov-
ernment of the United States, or in any Department
or Officer thereof.’’.
(12) Congressional authorization is necessary
for the establishment of extraordinary tribunals to
adjudicate and punish offenses arising from the Sep-
tember 11, 2001 attacks against the United States
and to provide a clear and unambiguous legal foun-
dation for such trials.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF EXTRAORDINARY TRIBUNALS.
(a) AUTHORITY.—The President is hereby authorized
to establish tribunals for the trial of individuals who—
(1) are not United States persons;
(2) are members of al Qaeda or members of
other terrorist organizations knowingly cooperating
with members of al Qaeda in planning, authorizing,
committing, or aiding in the September 11, 2001 at-
tacks against the United States, or, although not
members of any such organization, knowingly aided
and abetted members of al Qaeda in such terrorist
activities against the United States;
(3) are apprehended in Afghanistan, fleeing
from Afghanistan, or in or fleeing from any other
place outside the United States where there is armed
conflict involving the Armed Forces of the United
States; and
(4) are not prisoners of war within the meaning
of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment
of Prisoners of War, done on August 12, 1949, or
any protocol relating thereto.
(b) JURISDICTION.—Tribunals established under
subsection (a) may adjudicate violations of the law of war,
international laws of armed conflict, and crimes against
humanity targeted against United States persons.
(c) 
AUTHORITY
TO
ESTABLISH
PROCEDURAL
RULES.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with
the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, shall pre-
scribe and publish in the Federal Register, and report to
the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, the rules of evidence and proce-
dure that are to apply to tribunals established under sub-
section (a).
SEC. 4. PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The rules prescribed for a tri-
bunal under section 3(c) shall be designed to ensure a full
and fair hearing of the charges against the accused. The
rules shall require the following:
(1) That the tribunal be independent and im-
partial.
(2) That the accused be notified of the particu-
lars of the offense charged or alleged without delay.
(3) That the proceedings be made simulta-
neously intelligible for participants not conversant in
the English language by including translation or in-
terpretation.
(4) That the evidence supporting each alleged
offense be given to the accused.
(5) That the accused have the opportunity to be
present at trial.
(6) That the accused have a right to be rep-
resented by counsel.
(7) That the accused have the opportunity—
(A) to respond to the evidence supporting
each alleged offense;
(B) to obtain exculpatory evidence from
the prosecution; and
(C) to present exculpatory evidence.
(8) That the accused have the opportunity to
confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses and to
offer witnesses.
(9) That the proceeding and disposition be ex-
peditious.
(10) That the tribunal apply reasonable rules of
evidence designed to ensure admission only of reli-
able information or material with probative value.
(11) That the accused be afforded all necessary
means of defense before and after the trial.
(12) That conviction of an alleged offense be
based only upon proof of individual responsibility for
the offense.
(13) That conviction of an alleged offense not
be based upon an act, offense, or omission that was
not an offense under law when it was committed.
(14) That the penalty for an offense not be
greater than it was when the offense was committed.
(15) That the accused—
(A) be presumed innocent until proven
guilty, and
(B) not be found guilty except upon proof
beyond a reasonable doubt.
(16) That the accused not be compelled to con-
fess guilt or testify against himself.
(17) That, subject to subsections (c) and (d),
the trial be open and public and include public avail-
ability of the transcripts of the trial and the pro-
nouncement of judgment.
(18) That a convicted person be informed of
remedies and appeals and the time limits for the ex-
ercise of the person’s rights to the remedies and ap-
peals under the rules.
(b) IMPOSITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY.—The re-
quirements of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for
the imposition of the death penalty shall apply in any case
in which a tribunal established under section 3 is re-
quested to adjudge the death penalty.
(c) PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS.—Any proceedings con-
ducted by a tribunal established under section 3, and the
proceedings on any appeal of an action of the tribunal,
shall be accessible to the public consistent with any de-
monstrable necessity to secure the safety of observers, wit-
nesses, tribunal judges, counsel, or other persons.
(d) CONFIDENTIALITY
OF
EVIDENCE.—Evidence
available from an agency of the Federal Government that
is offered in a trial by a tribunal established under section
3 may be kept secret from the public only when the head
of the agency personally certifies in writing that disclosure
will cause—
(1) identifiable harm to the prosecution of mili-
tary objectives or interfere with the capture of mem-
bers of al Qaeda anywhere;
(2) significant, identifiable harm to intelligence
sources or methods; or
(3) substantial risk that such evidence could be
used for planning future terrorist attacks.
(e) REVIEW.—
(1) PROCEDURES REQUIRED.—The Secretary of
Defense shall provide for prompt review of convic-
tions by tribunals established under section 3 to en-
sure that the procedural requirements of a full and
fair hearing have been met and that the evidence
reasonably supports the convictions.
(2) UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR
THE ARMED FORCES.—The procedures established
(B) an investigation with a view toward
prosecution, a prosecution, or a post-trial pro-
ceeding in the case of such person, pursuant to
the provisions of this Act, is ongoing.
(2) CERTIFICATION AND RECERTIFICATION.—A
certification of circumstances made under paragraph
(1) shall be effective for 180 days. The President
may make successive certifications of the cir-
cumstances.
(c) DISCLOSURE OF EVIDENCE.—Evidence that may
establish that an accused is not a person described in sub-
section (a) shall be disclosed to the accused and his coun-
sel, except that a summary of such evidence shall be pro-
vided to the accused and his counsel when the Attorney
General personally certifies that disclosure of the evidence
would cause identifiable harm to the prosecution of mili-
tary objectives in Afghanistan, to the capture of other per-
sons who are subject to this Act or reside outside the
United States, or to the prevention of future terrorist acts
directed against Americans. A summary of evidence shall
be as complete as is possible in order to provide the ac-
cused with an evidentiary basis to seek release from deten-
tion.
(d) DETENTION REVIEW.—The United States Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall have
exclusive jurisdiction to review any determination under
this section that the requirements of this section for de-
taining an accused are satisfied.
(e) CONDITIONS OF DETENTION.—A person detained
under this section shall be—
(1) detained at an appropriate location des-
ignated by the Secretary of Defense;
(2) treated humanely, without any adverse dis-
tinction based on race, color, religion, gender, birth,
wealth, or any similar criteria;
(3) afforded adequate food, drinking water,
shelter, clothing, and medical treatment;
(4) sheltered under hygienic conditions and pro-
vided necessary means of personal hygiene; and
(5) allowed the free exercise of religion con-
sistent with the requirements of such detention.
SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the President should
seek the cooperation of United States allies and other na-
tions in conducting the investigations and prosecutions, in-
cluding extraditions, of the persons who are responsible
for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States,
and use to the fullest extent possible multilateral institu-
tions and mechanisms for carrying out such investigations
and prosecutions.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) SEPTEMBER
11, 2001
ATTACKS
ON
THE
UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘September 11, 2001
attacks on the United States’’ means the attacks on
the Pentagon in the metropolitan area of Wash-
ington, District of Columbia, and the World Trade
Center, New York, New York, on September 11,
2001, and includes the hijackings of American Air-
lines flights 77 and 11 and United Airlines flights
175 and 93 on that date.
(2) 
UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The 
term
‘‘United States person’’ has the meaning given that
term in section 101(i) of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801(i)).
SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.
The authority under this Act shall terminate at the
end of December 31, 2005.
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