Legal Advisers in Foreign Policy

One of the consequences of the controversial decisions and actions in the so-called War on Terror, was the focus on the role of lawyers in controversial areas of foreign policy. Indeed, lawyers were central to those interrogation techniques used on terror suspects that were later labeled as torture. The same lawyers, such as John Yoo, have even come under threat of national prosecutions around the world for international crimes. Moreover, recent national investigations in the UK and the Netherlands on Iraq have revealed the embattled position of legal advisers in government when advising on matters of international law.

This research project tracks the increased exposure of legal advice and legal advisers to public scrutiny and analyses the perceptions and responsibilities of legal advisers in foreign policy and related areas.