independent investigation

An inquiry carried out by people who are not under the control of those being investigated, with the power to obtain records, question witnesses and publish what they find. In the United States these have included congressional committees, inspectors general, presidential commissions and the courts; internationally, UN special rapporteurs and commissions of inquiry.

Precedent shows why they matter. In 1975 the Rockefeller Commission and the Senate's Church Committee brought to light MKUltra, a CIA program (1953–1973) that tested drugs, hypnosis and other methods of influencing the mind on people, some of whom never knew. Most of its records had been destroyed in 1973, and a 1977 Senate hearing uncovered more. More recently, after US diplomats and officers reported unexplained sounds, pressure and injuries from 2016 onward ("Havana syndrome"), Congress passed the HAVANA Act in 2021 to support them, and US agencies have reviewed the cases; their conclusions remain disputed.

Related terms: obedience experiment, Nuremberg Code, tribunal

Sources: The Church Committee — US Senate · HAVANA Act of 2021 — Congress.gov