AIDING THE ENEMY ACTS
The outbreak of war normally ends all forms of normal relations between belligerent states. In support of the war effort municipal laws may be implemented to prevent citizens and other persons within a belligerent state’s jurisdiction from assisting an enemy state through trade or other forms of contact. In the United States, for example, the Trading with the Enemy Act (40 Stat. 411 as amended [1917]) suspends all forms of trade
or communication with persons in enemy territory. The statutory or executive restrictions
imposed under the Trading with the Enemy Act are limited to formal periods of war, although other authority exists permitting the president to
impose restrictions on trade or communications
with a country without a declaration of war.
Because the Trading with the Enemy Act and
similar statutes apply specifically to other
nations in times of war, their provisions do not
apply easily to dealings between citizens of the
United States and members of terrorist organi-
zations. After the SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACKS
were perpetrated by terrorist organizations
against the United States, Congress enacted the
Uniting and Strengthening America by Provid-
ing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and
Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) (Pub. L.
No. 107-56, 115 Stat. 277) in order to strengthen
the ability of the United States to protect itself
from terrorist activities. The USA Patriot Act
amended the existing statutory provisions per-
mitting the president to restrict transactions and
other transfers with foreign countries, organiza-
tions, and persons in order to respond to
unusual and extraordinary threats against the
United States.
The current statutory provisions allowing
the president to impose economic sanctions
against a nation that the president deems to be a
threat against the United States are provided by
the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act (IEEPA), Pub. L. No. 95-223, 91 Stat. 1626
(50 U.S.C.A. §§ 1701-1702). Under this act, the
president may, with respect to any person or property subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, investigate, regulate, or prohibit transactions in foreign exchange; transfers of credit or payments by or to any banking institute; or importation or exportation of SECURITIES or currency. The president and the federal
government may also confiscate property owned
by certain foreign countries, organizations, or
nationals.
Violation of an EXECUTIVE ORDER issued pursuant to the IEEPA prohibiting trade with a
foreign nation or organization may result in
criminal sanctions. During the Gulf War in
1991, President GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH
issued an executive order prohibiting citizens of
the United States from traveling to or dealing
with the government of Iraq. Arch Trading
Company, Inc., a corporation based in Virginia,
violated this decree by completing a contract
with Iraq. The U.S. government brought crimi-
nal charges against the company for conspiring
to commit an offense against the United States
in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 371 (2000). Despite
arguments by the company that violation of the
order was not an “offense” under federal law, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
held that the company could be properly
charged. United States v. Arch Trading Co., 987 F.2d 1087 (4th Cir. 1993).
FURTHER READINGSBordwell, Percy. 1994. The Law of War between Belligerents.Littleton, Colo.: Fred B. Rothman. Green, Leslie C. 1999. Essays on the Modern Law of War. 2ded. Ardsley, N.Y.: Transnational.
CROSS-REFERENCESRules of War; War.
