Article

Captivity and the law : hostages, detainees, and criminal defendants in the fight against terrorism

Adam R. Pearlman

• ISLA journal of international and comparative law, Vol. 22, issue 2, Winter 2016, p. 461-469

English

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This article briefly addresses three issues that practitioners handling counterterrorism issues may encounter. First, whether there are limits on the force that can be used in an operation to rescue hostages held by a terrorist organization (such as the group that has alternatively been referred to as ISIS, ISIL, and IS). Second, how the detention policies and practices of the United States, specifically with respect to those detained at Guantanamo Bay, compare to the evolving approach of the international community. Finally, it describes military commissions as a mode of prosecuting alleged war criminals, and how United States and international law relate to one another in this context under present law, mindful that litigation in this area is ongoing.

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