Böcker av Jennifer Elsea

On November 13, 2001, President Bush signed a Military Order pertaining to the detention, treatment, and trial of certain non-citizens as part of the war against terrorism. The order makes clear that the President views the crisis that began on the morning of September 11 as an attack "on a scale that has created a state of armed conflict that requires the use of the United States Armed Forces." The order finds that the effective conduct of military operations and prevention of military attacks make it necessary to detain certain non-citizens and if necessary, to try them "for violations of the laws of war and other applicable laws by military tribunals." The unprecedented nature of the September attacks and the magnitude of damage and loss of life they caused have led a number of officials and commentators to assert that the acts are not just criminal acts, they are "acts of war." The President's Military Order makes it apparent that he plans to treat the attacks as acts of war rather than criminal acts. The distinction may have more than rhetorical significance. Treating the attacks as violations of the international law of war could allow the United States to prosecute those responsible as war criminals, trying them by special military commission rather than in federal court. The purpose of this report is to identify some of the legal and practical implications of treating the terrorist acts as war crimes and of applying the law of war rather than criminal statutes to prosecute the alleged perpetrators. The report will first present an outline of the sources and principles of the law of war, including a discussion of whether and how it might apply to the current terrorist crisis. A brief explanation of the background issues and arguments surrounding the use of military commissions will follow. The report will then explore the legal bases and implications of applying the law of war under United States law, summarize precedent for its application by military commissions, and provide an analysis of the President's Military Order of November 13, 2001. Finally, the report discusses considerations for establishing rules of procedure and evidence that comport with international standards.

Intends to identify some of the legal and practical implications of treating the terrorist acts as war crimes and of applying the law of war rather than criminal statutes to prosecute the alleged perpetrators. This book outlines the sources and principles of the law of war, discussing whether and how it might apply to terrorist crisis.

Aims to identify some of the legal and practical implications of treating the terrorist acts as war crimes and of applying the law of war rather than criminal statutes to prosecute the alleged perpetrators. This book also describes the procedures used by the World War II military tribunal to try the eight Germans.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first global permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for ''the most serious crimes of concern to the international community''. The United Nations, many human rights organisations, and most democratic nations have expressed support for the new court. The Bush Administration firmly opposes it and has formally renounced the US obligations under the treaty. At the same time, however, the Administration has stressed that the United States shares the goals of the ICC''s supporters-promotion of the rule of law- and does not intend to take any action to undermine the ICC. The primary objection given by the US in opposition to the treaty is the ICC''s possible assertion of the jurisdiction over US soldiers charged with ''war crimes'' resulting from legitimate uses of force. The main issue faced by the current Congress is whether to adopt a policy aimed at preventing the ICC from becoming effective or whether to continue contributing to the development of the ICC in order to improve it. This book provides a historical background of the negotiations for the Rome Statute, outlines the structure of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as contained in the final Statute, and describes the jurisdiction of the ICC. The book further identifies the specific crimes enumerated in the Rome Statute as supplemented by the draft elements of crime. A discussion of procedural safeguards follows, including reference to the draft procedural rules. The book then goes on to discuss the implications for the United States as a non-ratifying country when the ICC comes into being, and outlines some legislation enacted and proposed to regulate US relations with the ICC.