Article

An appraisal of US practice relating to "enemy combatants"

Gabor Rona

• Yearbook of international humanitarian law, Vol. 10, 2007, p. 232-250

English

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the United States sought to establish a framework for detaining, interrogating and possibly prosecuting persons suspected of various degrees of connection to international terrorism. There were several factors militating against reliance on a tried and true law enforcement paradigm of arrest and prosecution in federal courts. Perhaps the most significant one, as described by then Attorney General Ashcroft and other senior officials in the Department of Justice, was the felt need for a fundamental shift in approach when dealing with terrorist suspects, from prosecution to prevention of future attacks. "you have a right to remain silent and a right to an attorney" (the so-called Miranda warnings) was not the message that the administration wanted to convey.

• Yearbook of international humanitarian law
• Yearbook of international humanitarian law [Vol. 10, 2007]