| Part of a series on |
| Law |
|---|
 |
| Foundations and Philosophy |
| Legal theory |
| Methodological background |
| Legal debate |
Intelligence Law is the field of law that pertains specifically to the fields of intelligence and espionage; the legality of domestic and foreign intelligence gathering by states, and the illegality of those same activities within the borders of any state. [1] [2]
Intelligence law covers whatever laws that legitimize the existence of intelligence agencies, whether those are public sector, military, or commercial in nature. [3] Intelligence law also covers the criminal proceedings regarding the capture and prosecution of foreign agents captured on a state's sovereign territory. [4] [5]
Intelligence law is closely related to the fields of national security law, criminal law, and military law, and will often blend and crossover into those areas of law, especially considering the fact that some governments only possess military intelligence mechanisms, and no civilian government agency variants. [6] [7] It should also be noted that experts in intelligence law must also be practitioners of immigration law and, considering the fact that deportation proceedings are often an immediate reaction to most captures of foreign intelligence officers on a state's sovereign territory. [8]
However, some forms of intelligence law can also create legal frameworks within states for operations that violate international law, such as; human rights violations, repression of citizens, secret assassinations and murder, state terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism, arms dealing, extraordinary rendition, torture, kidnapping, false imprisonment and more. [9] [10]
