Category Archives: Guantanamo

US Jurisdiction in Guantanamo — Some Complexities

Earlier, I had what seemed like a great idea:

Personally, I would be prepared to read the words “the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control” language of the treaty as invoking the powers of all three branches of government, not just the executive. In this view, under Art. VI of the Constitution (“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding.”), the treaty would supply the jurisdiction for the federal courts that they seem to believe they lack under Article III.

On reflection, this isn't quite as great an idea as it seemed. Or, maybe it is, but it isn't as simple to get there as I would like.

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Posted in Guantanamo, Law: International Law | 6 Comments

Even If US Courts Don’t Have Jurisdiction Over Guantanamo, There Is No Recourse to Cuban Courts

In response to my most recent item on Guantánamo Edward Hasbrouck asks this reasonable question: “if courts in the USA say Guantanamo isn't under their jurisdiction, doesn't that mean they would have to recognize Cuban jurisdiction?”

The answer to this question is unusually clear: No.

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Posted in Guantanamo, Law: International Law | 5 Comments

Guantanamo: Our Collective Shame

As citizens we all bear a degree of collective responsibility for what our government does in our name. That responsibility is greater when we are or should be on notice. And thus, we are all responsible for what is happening in Guantanamo detention camps.

We are collectively responsible for what is happening in Camp Delta and Camp Iguana (the latter holds children). It is, or it should be, a matter of shame that our government chose to confine the Camp Delta prisoners in solitary, indefinitely, without news or the prospect of having their cases determined in the foreseeable future and where the policy is “We interrogate seven days a week, 24 hours a day.” (Interrogations, however, are limited [sic] “to no more than 16 straight hours” straight at one go.) There is no right to speedy trial (or other Geneva-convention-style hearing), or even to a trial. If and when trials do begin, there will be no right to to a proper attorney-client relationship even though the trials can end in the death penalty. Nor will there be a right to appeal the initial tribunal's verdict to a neutral court staffed by judges with the neutrality of perspective that comes from life tenure.

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Posted in Civil Liberties, Guantanamo | 4 Comments