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New Comparative Intelligence Oversight Project From Wilson Center and NYU School of Law

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Center for Law and Security (CLS) at New York University School of Law announced today the launch of the Comparative Intelligence Oversight Project, a joint effort studying the full range of approaches to intelligence oversight in Western democracies.

Washington and New York  – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Center for Law and Security (CLS) at New York University School of Law announced today the launch of the Comparative Intelligence Oversight Project, a joint effort studying the full range of approaches to intelligence oversight in Western democracies. The initiative comes as Congress braces for a debate on key provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire in June, and in the wake of a major reform of the Central Intelligence Agency. Supporting those conversations, the Oversight Project will convene leaders for public and private discussions on governing espionage in a new threat environment. The new effort will also promote scholarship by the foremost international academics and practitioners in the fields of intelligence and law. 

“In light of the Snowden leaks and the recent acts of terrorism in Australia and Europe, many states have begun to ask how to make intelligence activities both more effective and more accountable,” said Zachary Goldman, Executive Director at CLS. “We believe that should be a global discussion. States clearly benefit from cooperation in confronting terrorism, cyber threats, weapons proliferation, and other security challenges. We believe they can also benefit from learning from each other’s experience in trying to promote good intelligence oversight.”

The Wilson Center and the Center on Law and Security will host Representative Adam Schiff, ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), for a private conversation to inaugurate the Project. Former Congresswoman Jane Harman, President of the Wilson Center and herself former ranking member on HPSCI, will moderate that discussion.
 
Mr. Goldman said it was appropriate to start an international review of intelligence regulation with the perspective of the U.S. Congress. “The United States has simultaneously the world’s greatest intelligence capabilities and—through Congress—one of the most well-established forms of intelligence oversight,” he said. “Because of that, I can’t think of a better person to contribute to this conversation than Representative Schiff. The actions of the HPSCI impact not only the United States, but serve as a model for intelligence regulation throughout the world.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world.
2. The Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law is a non-partisan multidisciplinary research institute focused on cultivating an informed dialogue and conducting groundbreaking research on  the most important national security, legal, and strategic questions of the post-9/11 era.  Led by its Faculty Director, Associate Professor Samuel Rascoff, and its Executive  Director, Zachary Goldman, the Center endeavors to make our national security policies more effective, legitimate, and sustainable through its publications, conferences, and events. 

Contributor

 Jane Harman image

Jane Harman

Distinguished Fellow and President Emerita, Wilson Center

Jane Harman, Distinguished Fellow and President Emerita, Wilson Center, is an internationally recognized authority on U.S. and global security issues, foreign relations and lawmaking. A native of Los Angeles and a public-school graduate, she went on to become a nine-term member of Congress, serving decades on the major security committees in the House of Representatives. Drawing upon a career that has included service as President Carter’s Secretary of the Cabinet and hundreds of diplomatic missions to foreign countries, Harman holds posts on nearly a dozen governmental and non-governmental advisory boards and commissions.

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