Review of Legal Challenges to Terrorist Sanctions and Material Support Prosecutions

The use of sanctions against individuals, groups, states, and other public and private actors that engage in or support terrorism is a cornerstone of America’s counterterrorism strategy. The first step in the sanctioning process requires a formal “designation” of an actor as a sponsor or material supporter of terrorism. Since 9/11, hundreds of such actors have had assets frozen, been barred from doing business with U.S. companies, or been arrested and prosecuted for material support of terrorism based on these designations. Not surprisingly, legal challenges to the U.S. government’s designations and sanctions processes have been on the rise, potentially threatening the effectiveness of this vital counterterrorism tool.

The purpose of the Capstone project is to provide a detailed overview and assessment of foreign and domestic legal challenges to the U.S Government’s counter-terrorism designation processes and policies; specifically, designations of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (“FTO”) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (“SDGT”), as well as the material support prosecutions that stem from this regime. The goal is to highlight trends in litigation and offer recommendations on how the United States can more effectively mitigate the risk and impact of legal challenges and court losses.