PANEL RECOMMENDS REFORM IN DRUG LAW

WASHINGTON (AP) - Concerned that innocent companies could be
penalized for inadvertently doing business with drug traffickers, an
independent panel of lawyers is recommending changes in the year-old
"drug kingpin" law.

The five-lawyer panel recommended that businesses that are fined or
have assets blocked under the Foreign Drug Kingpin Designation Act be
permitted to appeal the penalties to a judge.

Under the kingpin law, the Treasury Department can freeze the U.S.
assets of foreign drug traffickers and penalize companies that do
business with them.

Supporters of the law see it as an important new weapon in the fight
against drug trafficking. Civil libertarians and foreign officials
worried, however, that innocent companies could be fined or have
assets blocked without having the opportunity to defend themselves.

"Balancing the needs of law enforcement in combating these forces
with the due process protections of U.S. businesses and citizens who
may unwittingly do business with them is a delicate and never-ending
challenge," the Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control
said in an interim report issued Monday. A final report is due in January.

Under the law, people designated drug kingpins by the president have
their U.S. assets blocked. Twelve suspected traffickers were placed on
the list in June.

The law also allows the Treasury Department to prepare a "Tier II"
list of foreign companies linked to drug traffickers. Any company on
this list - none has been designated so far - would also have its U.S.
assets blocked, and U.S. companies would be barred from doing business
with them.

Under current law, foreign companies can't appeal orders blocking
assets, and U.S. companies can't appeal civil penalties they receive
for doing business with a "Tier II" company.

The review commission, created under the kingpin legislation,
recommended the creation of an administrative review system to allow
appeals. Those rulings could then be further appealed in the federal
court system.

"By allowing judicial review of Tier II designations by the Secretary
of the Treasury in the manner the commission recommends, Congress
would strengthen the domestic and international business communities'
faith in the integrity and fairness of the process," the report said.

Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., chairman of the Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence and a major supporter of the kingpin legislation, said
through a spokeswoman that he hasn't a had chance yet to review the
report, but "we're going to monitor this closely."

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control would not comment on the
report because it is under review.

Among other recommendations by the commission, chaired by Atlanta
attorney Larry Thompson, were clarifying the standards for Tier II
designations, preventing assets from being blocked during
investigations and reviewing criminal penalties - now maximum
sentences of 30 years and $10 million fines.

Rachel King of the American Civil Liberties Union said the report's
recommendations were "excellent."

"The main reason why we opposed it from a civil liberties perspective
was its eliminating judicial review," she said.