[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 30 (Monday, July 30, 2007)]
[Pages 1000-1002]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13440--Interpretation of the Geneva Conventions Common 
Article 3 as Applied to a Program of Detention and Interrogation 
Operated by the Central Intelligence Agency

July 20, 2007

    By the authority vested in me as President and Commander in Chief of 
the Armed Forces by the Constitution and the laws of the United States 
of America, including the Authorization for Use of Military Force 
(Public Law 107-40), the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (Public Law 
109-366), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby 
ordered as follows:

    Section 1. General Determinations. (a) The United States is engaged 
in an armed conflict with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces. 
Members of al Qaeda were responsible for the attacks on the United 
States of September 11, 2001, and for many other terrorist attacks, 
including against the United States, its personnel, and its allies 
throughout the world. These forces continue to fight the United States 
and its allies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, and they continue to 
plan additional acts of terror throughout the world. On February 7, 
2002, I determined for the United States that members of al Qaeda, the 
Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not 
entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to 
prisoners of war. I hereby reaffirm that determination.

    (b) The Military Commissions Act defines certain prohibitions of 
Common Article 3 for United States law, and it reaffirms and reinforces 
the authority of the President to interpret the meaning and application 
of the Geneva Conventions.
    Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this order:
    (a) ``Common Article 3'' means Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.

    (b) ``Geneva Conventions'' means:
(i)          the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the 
            Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, done at 
            Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3114);

(ii)         the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of 
            Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at 
            Sea, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3217);

(iii)        the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of 
            War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316); and

(iv)         the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian 
            Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 
            UST 3516).

[[Page 1001]]

    (c) ``Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment'' means 
the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by 
the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the 
United States.
    Sec. 3. Compliance of a Central Intelligence Agency Detention and 
Interrogation Program with Common Article 3. (a) Pursuant to the 
authority of the President under the Constitution and the laws of the 
United States, including the Military Commissions Act of 2006, this 
order interprets the meaning and application of the text of Common 
Article 3 with respect to certain detentions and interrogations, and 
shall be treated as authoritative for all purposes as a matter of United 
States law, including satisfaction of the international obligations of 
the United States. I hereby determine that Common Article 3 shall apply 
to a program of detention and interrogation operated by the Central 
Intelligence Agency as set forth in this section. The requirements set 
forth in this section shall be applied with respect to detainees in such 
program without adverse distinction as to their race, color, religion or 
faith, sex, birth, or wealth.
    (b) I hereby determine that a program of detention and interrogation 
approved by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency fully 
complies with the obligations of the United States under Common Article 
3, provided that:
(i)          the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices 
            of the program do not include:
         (A) torture, as defined in section 2340 of title 18, United 
            States Code;
         (B) any of the acts prohibited by section 2441(d) of title 18, 
            United States Code, including murder, torture, cruel or 
            inhuman treatment, mutilation or maiming, intentionally 
            causing serious bodily injury, rape, sexual assault or 
            abuse, taking of hostages, or performing of biological 
            experiments;
         (C) other acts of violence serious enough to be considered 
            comparable to murder, torture, mutilation, and cruel or 
            inhuman treatment, as defined in section 2441(d) of title 
            18, United States Code;
         (D) any other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or 
            punishment prohibited by the Military Commissions Act 
            (subsection 6(c) of Public Law 109-366) and the Detainee 
            Treatment Act of 2005 (section 1003 of Public Law 109-148 
            and section 1403 of Public Law 109-163);
         (E) willful and outrageous acts of personal abuse done for the 
            purpose of humiliating or degrading the individual in a 
            manner so serious that any reasonable person, considering 
            the circumstances, would deem the acts to be beyond the 
            bounds of human decency, such as sexual or sexually indecent 
            acts undertaken for the purpose of humiliation, forcing the 
            individual to perform sexual acts or to pose sexually, 
            threatening the individual with sexual mutilation, or using 
            the individual as a human shield; or
         (F) acts intended to denigrate the religion, religious 
            practices, or religious objects of the individual;
(ii)         the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices 
            are to be used with an alien detainee who is determined by 
            the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency:
         (A) to be a member or part of or supporting al Qaeda, the 
            Taliban, or associated organizations; and
         (B) likely to be in possession of information that:
                 (1) could assist in detecting, mitigating, or 
                preventing terrorist attacks, such as attacks within the 
                United States or against its Armed Forces or other 
                personnel, citizens, or facilities, or against allies or 
                other countries cooperating in the war on terror with 
                the United States, or their armed forces or other 
                personnel, citizens, or facilities; or
                 (2) could assist in locating the senior leadership of 
                al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces;
(iii)        the interrogation practices are determined by the Director 
            of the Central Intelligence Agency, based upon professional 
            advice, to be safe for use

[[Page 1002]]

            with each detainee with whom they are used; and

(iv)         detainees in the program receive the basic necessities of 
            life, including adequate food and water, shelter from the 
            elements, necessary clothing, protection from extremes of 
            heat and cold, and essential medical care.

    (c) The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall issue 
written policies to govern the program, including guidelines for Central 
Intelligence Agency personnel that implement paragraphs (i)(C), (E), and 
(F) of subsection 3(b) of this order, and including requirements to 
ensure:

(i)          safe and professional operation of the program;
(ii)         the development of an approved plan of interrogation 
            tailored for each detainee in the program to be 
            interrogated, consistent with subsection 3(b)(iv) of this 
            order;
(iii)        appropriate training for interrogators and all personnel 
            operating the program;
(iv)         effective monitoring of the program, including with respect 
            to medical matters, to ensure the safety of those in the 
            program; and
(v)          compliance with applicable law and this order.
    Sec. 4. Assignment of Function. With respect to the program 
addressed in this order, the function of the President under section 
6(c)(3) of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is assigned to the 
Director of National Intelligence.

    Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Subject to subsection (b) of this 
section, this order is not intended to, and does not, create any right 
or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, 
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or other entities, 
its officers or employees, or any other person.

    (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to prevent or limit 
reliance upon this order in a civil, criminal, or administrative 
proceeding, or otherwise, by the Central Intelligence Agency or by any 
individual acting on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency in 
connection with the program addressed in this order.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 July 20, 2007.

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:16 a.m., July 23, 
2007]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on July 
24. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.