The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit
This Reading Room is a comprehensive database of published opinions written by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). It contains the approximately 1,400 opinions published by the OLC in its online database and the opinions produced in Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the Knight Institute, including opinions about the Pentagon Papers, the Civil Rights Era, and the War Powers Act. It also contains indexes of unclassified OLC opinions written between 1945 and February 15, 1994 (these indexes were created by the OLC and intended to be comprehensive). We have compiled those indexes into a single list here and in .csv format here. This Reading Room also contains an index of all classified OLC opinions issued between 1974 and 2021, except those classified or codeword-classified at a level higher than Top Secret (the OLC created this index, too, and intended it to be comprehensive).
The Knight Institute will continue updating the reading room with new records. To get alerts when the OLC publishes a new opinion in its database, follow @OLCforthepeople on Twitter.
Showing 411–420 of 2202
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Status of Taliban Forces Under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949
The President has reasonable factual grounds to determine that no members of the Taliban militia are entitled to prisoner of war status under Article 4 of the 1949 Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19096/download.
2/7/2002
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Memorandum From Alberto Gonzales to the President on the Application of the Geneva Convention to Al Qaeda and the Taliban
This memo makes minor revisions to a previous OLC opinion on the application of the Geneva Conventions to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/docs/aclu-ii-012602.pdf.
1/26/2002
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Application of Treaties and Laws to al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees
This opinion evaluates whether the War Crimes Act and the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War ("Geneva III") apply to captured members of al Qaeda and the Taliban militia. The opinion determines that al Qaeda detainees cannot claim the protections of either agreement, due to al Qaeda's role as a nonstate actor and the novel nature of the conflict. Similarly, although Afghanistan is a signatory to Geneva III, the president may suspend the treaty obligations with respect to Afghanistan by deeming it a failed state. This opinion was partially rescinded in 2009. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/docs/memo-laws-taliban-detainees.pdf.
1/22/2002
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Assertion of Executive Privilege With Respect to Prosecutorial Documents
Executive privilege may properly be asserted in response to a congressional subpoena seeking prosecutorial decisionmaking documents of the Department of Justice. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19101/download.
12/10/2001
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Application of Federal Advisory Committee Act to Non-Governmental Consultations
The Federal Advisory Committee Act does not apply to the consultations that the Department of Defense plans to conduct with various individuals from outside the government regarding the policies and procedures that DoD is developing for military commissions. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19106/download.
12/7/2001
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Application of Privacy Act Congressional-Disclosure Exception to Disclosures to Ranking Minority Members
The congressional-disclosure exception to the disclosure prohibition of the Privacy Act generally does not apply to disclosures to committee ranking minority members. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19111/download.
12/5/2001
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Treaties and Laws Applicable to the Conflict in Afghanistan and to the Treatment of Persons Captured by U.S. Armed Forces in that Conflict
This opinion evaluates whether captured members of al Qaeda and the Taliban militia are protected by certain international treaties and laws, such as the War Crimes Act, Hague Convention IV, Geneva Conventions, and customary international law. The opinion determines that al Qaeda detainees cannot claim the protections of these agreements, due to al Qaeda's role as a nonstate actor and the novel nature of the conflict. Similarly, since Afghanistan is not a party to Hague Convention IV, captured Taliban fighters are not covered by it. Finally, though Afghanistan is a signatory to Geneva III, the president may suspend the treaty obligations with respect to Afghanistan by deeming it a failed state. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/docs/aclu-ii-113001.pdf.
11/30/2001
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Constitutional Issues Raised by Commerce, Justice and State Appropriations Bill
A provision prohibiting the use of appropriated funds for United Nations peacekeeping missions involving the use of United States Armed Forces under the command of a foreign national unconstitutionally constrains the President's authority as Commander in Chief and his authority over foreign affairs. A provision prohibiting the use of appropriated funds for cooperation with, assistance to, or other support for the International Criminal Court would be unconstitutional insofar as it would prohibit the President from providing support and assistance to the ICC under any and all circumstances, but it can be applied in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority in the area of foreign affairs. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19116/download.
11/28/2001
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Authority of the President to Suspend Certain Provisions of the ABM Treaty
This opinion concludes that President Bush's partial suspension of the Treaty on Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems ("The ABM Treaty") is constitutional, since a partial suspension of the ABM Treaty is not a treaty "amendment" that would be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, and the president exercises all other (unenumerated) powers related to treaty making. This opinion was partially rescinded in 2009. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/docs/memoabmtreaty11152001.pdf.
11/15/2001
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Legality of the Use of Military Commissions to Try Terrorists
The President possesses inherent authority under the Constitution, as Chief Executive and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, to establish military commissions to try and punish terrorists captured in connection with the attacks of September 11 or in connection with U.S. military operations in response to those attacks. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19121/download.
11/6/2001