Very little of the Justice League's operational policies have been explicitly established in the chronicles of their adventures. The following information about the organization and its by-laws has been extrapolated by the author and acknowledged by JLA editor Julius Schwartz.

When the Justice League was originally formed, its founding members conceived of it as little more than a glorified social club for super-heroes. Although their reason for banding together was to handle menaces as a group too formidable for them to cope with individually the Justice League's business was first conducted by mail and they often learned of a new menace by Snapper Carr's transistor radio. Over the years, the JLA's operation have become more sophisticated and its effectiveness more expansive. Today the Justice League exists as an elite para-militia, employing advanced technology and superhuman operatives to safeguard the planet Earth. Although all its members happen to be native or naturalized American citizens, the JLA's functions are global in scope, and the organization has earned the respect and cooperation of most of the nations on Earth.