Assassination and the law: A policy memorandum

Normally, assassination is a crime under international law. Yet there are rare, residual circumstances where it may be not only permissible but law enforcing. Insofar as international law is part of United States law, assassination might—in these very extraordinary circumstances—not be unlawful. Drawing on the explicit expectations of international law and the natural law foundations of U.S. municipal law, this article acknowledges that assassination must always be impermissible as an instrument of Realpolitik, but that in a world that continues to confront innocent populations with terrible harms (terrorism, war, genocide) assassination does have a proper place. Throughout this examination, philosophical and jurisprudential perspectives are fused with both pertinent tactical considerations and utilitarian calculations.