Tuesday, October 21, 2003

On treatment of prisoners of war.. Posted here Tuesday, October 21, 2003 at 2:51:39 PM     I consider this extremeley important.. the current approach of the govenment to the issues is a stain on the american character.     Friends-Of-The Court Briefs Filed With The Supreme Court Overview               In a landmark event, a diverse group of prominent Americans and international law scholars has come together calling upon the United States Supreme Court to review Administration policy in detaining people at Guantanamo and elsewhere.  They have urged the Supreme Court to hear cases brought by Yaser Hamdi, a U.S. citizen, and by citizens of allied nations held at Guantanamo, all of whom have been detained indefinitely with little or no legal process.  Seven separate amici curiae or friends-of-the court briefs have been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court questioning the legality of U.S. treatment of those prisoners under the Constitution, the Geneva Conventions, and international law.  Briefs have been filed by:  distinguished former U.S. diplomats; former U.S. federal judges and leading members of the private bar; former judge advocate generals of the Navy and Marine Corps; former American POWs; the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association; the Commonwealth Lawyers Association; and Fred Korematsu, the plaintiff who challenged the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.             According to Douglass Cassel, Professor of Law at Northwestern University, “The filing of this many amici briefs at this stage of the proceeding – in support of petitions for certiorari – is an extraordinary legal event and reflects the breadth of concern for upholding fundamental American principles and the rule of law.” Following are a few statements from those briefs: ·        Brief Filed by Former U.S. Diplomats “This is, from our foreign policy experience, a case of vast public import . . . . It has been the experience of each of us that our most important diplomatic asset has been this nation’s values . . . . The hint that America is not all that it claims, that it . . . can accept that the Executive Branch may imprison whom it will and do so beyond the reach of due process of law demeans and weakens this nation’s voice abroad.” ·        Brief Filed by Former Federal Judges, Government Officials and Prominent Lawyers “The decisions of the Circuit Courts below, effectively denying a meaningful review of the Executive Branch’s determinations regarding petitioners and essentially closing the courthouse door to them, disregard one of the most basic and fundamental foundations of our system of government:  the rule of law.” ·        Brief Filed by Former Judge Advocate Generals “To be sure, this is a perilous time, as the President has stated.  But that does not justify indefinite confinement without any type of hearing or judicial review.”  The United States played a major role in the development and adoption of the Geneva Conventions.  The requirements of those Conventions are incorporated directly into American Military Regulations.  “American failure to provide foreign prisoners with the protections of the Geneva Conventions may well provide foreign authorities, in current or future conflicts, with an excuse not to comply with the Geneva Conventions with respect to captured American military forces.” ·        Brief Filed by Former American POWs “As a result of [our] own experiences, [we] have an interest in fostering the development, acceptance and enforcement of international norms pursuant to which prisoners of war and others captured during armed conflicts will be treated humanely and in accordance with the rule of law.”  In particular, we “wish to ensure that the treatment by the United States of foreign detainees . . . is such that the United States and former American POWs retain the moral authority to demand fair and humane treatment for any future Americans detained by foreign governments.”  It is important for the Supreme Court to take these cases because they raise the “critical question of whether, in a world in which the United States seeks to persuade other nations to govern in accordance with the rule of law, the United States will honor its own commitment” to that principle.   (there is more, click on the title...) ********