Law Commons^™

De-Cloaking Torture: Boumediene And The Military Commissions Act, Alan W. Clarke

San Diego International Law Journal

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) marked the high tide and endgame for hiding torture. It's unraveling did more to uncover the Bush administration's secret interrogation practices than did the political change in Washington. International and domestic backlash against the government's embrace of harsh interrogation techniques, frequently rising to the level of torture, also played a role. However, the Supreme Court's decisions ending in Boumediene v. Bush played the decisive role. Boumediene, and the Supreme Court decisions that led up to it, made inevitable that which politics had left contingent and reversible. It also provided legal and political cover.

Looking Forward, Backward, Or Just Away?, Chandra Lekha Sriram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The declassification and leaking of the so-called “torture memos” only supplements much which was already publicly well-known, but has offered a fresh opportunity to frankly debate American values, in particular its commitment to the rule of law, its own constitution, and international human rights and humanitarian law obligations to which it has committed itself, and which the Supreme Court has confirmed are part of domestic law. It is a shame, therefore, that the debate has been so stunted, diverted by the red herring of Dick Cheney’s rantings, and the apparent willingness of a segment of the population to accept, first, …

Let Us Not Become The Evil We Deplore, Rebecca Otis

Human Rights & Human Welfare

On 14 September 2001, Representative Barbara Lee (CA-D) voted against the House bill that granted President Bush the authority to use force in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. As the sole person to vote against the bill (by a margin of 420-1), Lee was roundly vilified as a “traitor,” a “coward, and even a “communist.” Later that day, as the only voice of dissent on the House floor, Lee delivered a speech to justify her position. Famously, she said to the elected representatives of our country, “As we act, let us not become …

Response To Mark Danner’S “The Red Cross’ Torture Report: What It Means”, Charli Carpenter

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Danner’s NY Review of Books treatise on torture calls our attention to many significant issues, but in his key argument he is critically wrong.

June Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Red Cross Torture Report: What It Means.” by Mark Danner. The New York Review of Books. April 30, 2009.

Righting Past, Present And Future Wrongs, Rhona Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Three legal issues are raised by the centerpiece of this month’s Roundtable: Does the legal definition of torture include “enhanced interrogation techniques”? What are the legal responsibilities of a State when torture is committed by its agents? and What should the State do now to prevent future violations of human rights? In other words, one must characterize the actions of the past, ameliorate the damage in the present, and prevent a recurrence in the future.

Torture—And Our Broader Understanding Of Human Rights, Mark Gibney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Like most other human rights scholars, I am appalled at the idea that those people in the Bush White House who designed the administration’s policy on torture (but calling it something else) will in all likelihood go unpunished. In my view, the law is clear on this matter: those who directed and/or carried out torture must be held accountable for their actions. However, rather than focusing on the issue of accountability, I will use the issue of torture to make a broader point about how we have come to conceptualize the extent and scope of a state’s human rights obligations.

The Moral High Ground In An Age Of Vulnerability, Tyler Moselle

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Mark Danner’s New York Review of Books piece on torture in conjunction with John Nichols’ comment on the Bush administration, outline moral, legal and political problems related to the global war on terrorism and the ascendancy of the American imperial presidency. Most people seem to be repulsed by the idea of torture but are not morally committed enough or fully dedicated to prevent it from being employed to defend their way of life. Torture is a policy decision predicated on fear, self-defense, and vulnerability in an age of globalized insurgency: one way to respond is to take the moral high …

Much Ado About Non-State Actors: The Vanishing Relevance Of State Affiliation In International Criminal Law, John Cerone

San Diego International Law Journal

Much has been made recently of the deficiencies of international law in grappling with violence perpetrated by non-state actors. From transnational terrorist networks to private security contractors (PSCs), organizations that are not officially part of the apparatus of any state are increasingly engaged in protracted episodes of intense violence, giving rise to questions of accountability under international law. Does international law provide rules applicable to such conduct? While the repression of crime, especially that perpetrated by non-state actors, has traditionally been left to the internal law of states, most international jurists will point to the ancient rules of international law …

Prosecuting Torturers, Protecting "Child Molesters": Toward A Power Balance Model Of Criminal Process For International Human Rights Law, Mykola Sorochinsky

Michigan Journal of International Law

In the age of terrorism, human rights law globally suffers substantial setbacks. However, at the regional level, human rights law is now more relevant than ever. More cases are decided each year by regional human rights tribunals, particularly in Europe. More importantly, human rights law affects more areas of domestic legal systems than ever before-from trademark law to limits on corporal punishment of children. This growing complexity presents two challenges: first, the challenge of comprehension (or the increasing need to make sense of the ever-expanding case law in many substantive areas) and second, the challenge of responsibility (or the fact …

Panel 2: How Are Laws Applied And Detention Practices Reformed? Reforming Interrogation Practices: Alexis St. Martin And The Post-9/11 Era Opportunity , Eugene R. Fidell

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 2: How Are Laws Applied And Detention Practices Reformed? Question & Answer Session , Steven Watt, Claudio Grossman, James Ross, Eugene Fidell

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 3: Transparency And Access Of Independent Experts To All Places Of Detention Experience In Latin America, Santiago Canton

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Institutionalizing Torture: The Case Of Hospitals And Prisons In China, Leighann Mcchesney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has a notorious reputation, especially within the international human rights community, concerning its state-implemented practices of torture. Although the government of China has been charged by many international organizations with having a gruesome human rights record, on anything from freedom of speech to freedom of religion, the accusations of state-sanctioned torture undoubtedly have caused some of the strongest reactions around the world. This article seeks to address the various manifestations of torture that take place inside two of the most prominent public institutions in China: the prisons and the mental hospitals. By utilizing these …

Return To Sender, Intent Unknown: The Effects Of The Third Circuit's Interpretation Of The Convention Against Torture's Intent Requirement On Haitian Criminal Deportees, Taylor Healy

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Panel 1: Are Adequate Legal Frameworks In Place At The Domestic Level? Introductory Remarks And Presentation Of Panelists, Richard Wilson

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 1: Are Adequate Legal Frameworks In Place At The Domestic Level? Domestic Incorporation Of Obligations Under The Convention Against Torture, Luis Gallegos, Claudio Grossman

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 1: Are Adequate Legal Frameworks In Place At The Domestic Level? Torture As A Specific Criminal Offense In Domestic Laws , Matt Pollard

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 2: How Are Laws Applied And Detention Practices Reformed? Litigation: Taking Cases And Those Responsible To Court , Steven Watt

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 2: How Are Laws Applied And Detention Practices Reformed? Advocacy And Campaigning Against Torture , James Ross

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 2: How Are Laws Applied And Detention Practices Reformed? Reforming Interrogation Practices , David Danzig

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Luncheon Keynote Address, Mark L. Schneider

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 3: Transparency & Access Of Independent Experts To Places Of Detention: Introductory Remarks And Presentation Of Panelists, Viviana Krsticevic

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 3: Transparency And Access Of Independent Experts To All Places Of Detention: Expectations Of The Subcommittee On The Prevention Of Torture, The National Preventative Mechanisms, And The Un Optional Protocol To The Convention Against Torture , Malcolm Evans

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 3: Transparency And Access Of Independent Experts To All Places Of Detention: Health-Related Considerations , Nora Sveaass

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Panel 3: Transparency And Access Of Independent Experts To All Places Of Detention Question & Answer Session , Claudio Grossman, Malcolm Evans

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.