Current international law, even precedence established by this very court, indicates that the process of bringing Osama Bin Laden to trial is legal. Numerous conventions and treaties support this action, both globally and regionally as well. Bearing in mind the fact that these bombings did occur at official buildings, these acts fall under this convention. Article 7 further states that the nation-state which houses the alleged offender shall either extradite him for trial or hold a trial on their own soil. This treaty lays out the definition of “protected persons” and establishes a code of conduct for bringing such criminals to trial. The next convention that holds precedence in this situation is that of the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings. The convention provides for one exemption: if the alleged act occurs within a state in which the offender and the victims both reside and the alleged offender is still in the state. For example, the bombing of the U.S. Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is an example of an act that is exempt from the provisions of the convention. However, Osama Bin Laden does not fall under this exemption. Bringing Osama Bin Laden to trial for his actions was a means by which the United Nations Security Council took measures by which to ensure security. The call by the Security Council to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice does have its merits, and is legally justified under current international law. Bin Laden has been implicated in acts of terrorism all over the world, and his financial backing, while weakening, is still considerable. By getting Afghanistan to turn Bin Laden over to the proper authorities, a measure of peace and security can be attained once again. By bringing him to trial, these prevailing instruments of international law that apply to terrorism can be viewed in force. After the special session of the International Court of Justice, held on December 1, 1999, my opinion regarding the legality of imposing sanctions against the Taliban changed. After reviewing the merits of this action and what other steps should have been taken, I now find myself in the unusual position of completely changing my view on this issue. During review, four main questions became apparent. The first question is whether all other options were attempted before imposing sanctions. This first question is one of paramount importance. Unless all other steps had been taken, the Security Council would have jumped the gun and moved too soon to impose sanctions. While there was scattered evidence indicating that there had indeed been some sort of discussion between the U.S. government and the Taliban regarding a deal for bringing Bin Laden to trial, nothing was certain. All evidence pointing to this fact also pointed to the fact that neither side had tried too hard. Further complicating matters is the fact that there was an insufficient amount of information from any of the members of the panel that clearly proved whether or not all other measures had first been taken. Article 33 of the UN Charter was used repeatedly to illustrate the need for these other steps to be taken first. Personally, I felt that while Article 33 did call for this, Article 41, which gives the Security Council authority to step in after determining that a threat to peace exists under Article 39 of the Charter, authorizes the Security Council to use any measures short of military force, “including the complete or partial interruption of economic relations”. I find it difficult to conclude whether or not other options had been considered because of a lack of sufficient evidence which would enable one to review what actions had been taken by both sides. The second question is who has jurisdiction over Bin Laden. This question was also interesting in that it called into question who should be responsible for trying Bin Laden if he is brought up for trial. Since the bombings in question took place in Kenya

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