Mark Zaid and Rob "Butch" Bracknell address the joint meeting of the International Committee of the ABA Senior Lawyers Division (SLD) and the National Security Committee of the ABA International Law Section (ILS) on Anomalous Health Incidents (sometimes referred to by the media as "Havana Syndrome"). Their comments are premised on the presumption that AHIs are caused by a malign state based capability being deliberately applied against American human targets in various overseas and domestic locations.
They will discuss the evidence underlying the presumption, the standards for "internationally wrongful acts,” possible treaty violations, and the measures a state may take under international law in response. They will also examine the responsibility of USG to protect US personnel from attacks by foreign actors, and the extent to which USG may have failed to do so, including complicity in obscuring the truth.
Our speakers will also take a brief look at whether US citizens acting under the scope of federal employment (diplomats, intelligence personnel, military) maintain a private right of action against a foreign sovereign in US courts, and will analogize law by analogy to determine at what point the attacks might rise to a level of "armed attack" sufficient to trigger a state's right to self defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Links Mentioned in the Recording
- 60 Minutes episode (full episode): Havana Syndrome evidence suggests who may be responsible for mysterious brain injuries
- 60 Minutes episode (transcript): Havana Syndrome mystery continues as a lead military investigator says bar for proof was set impossibly high
- Congressional hearing video: Silent Weapons: Examining Foreign Anomalous Health Incidents Targeting Americans in the Homeland
- Written testimony of the witnesses, including Mark Zaid's
- Twitter: This unclassified NSA document given to Mark Zaid in 2014 is, in his view, incredible. Remember, this is pre-Havana.