An Analysis of the United States Supreme Court’s Decisions in Boumediene, Al Odah and Munaf
An Analysis of the United States Supreme Court’s Decisions in Boumediene, Al Odah and Munaf
Wed June 18th: 1-2pm
AL142, Aras Na Laoi, UCC
Research Seminar
Wed June 18th 1-2pm
Aras na Laoi, Room 142
Does the Constitution Follow the Flag? An Analysis of the United States Supreme Court’s Decisions in Boumediene, Al Odah and Munaf
with
Fiona De Londras, Lecturer in Law, U.C.C.
Abstract
On 12 June 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down judgments in the latest ‘War on Terrorism’ cases to come before it. In Boumediene v Bush; Al Odah v United States the Court introduced the notion of ‘de facto sovereignty’ to justify holding that Guantanamo Bay detainees had the constitutional right to challenge their detention in American courts. In the case of Munaf v Green the Court held that Americans detained in Iraq and claimed to have fought against U.S. forces continue to enjoy the constitutional right to habeas corpus, but that federal courts are not obliged to entertain such petitions if they feel it appropriate. While these cases answered some questions about the rights of suspected terrorist detainees in the ‘War on Terrorism’, many remain open. Does the Constitution apply to non-citizens detained in centres other than Guantanamo Bay? How will federal habeas corpus work in practical terms? Can Congress introduce an alternative to traditional habeas corpus? Was the Supreme Court’s decision based on sound reasoning or purely results-oriented? This paper will outline the decisions in these cases and reflect on some of the main questions that they raise about the future direction of the United States’ detention policies in the ‘War on Terrorism’.
Bio
Fiona De Londras is a College Lecturer at the Faculty of Law U.C.C. She has held visiting positions in the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Emory University, USA, and the University of Peshawar, Pakistan. She has published widely on the habeas corpus rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees including in the Modern Law Review, Israel Law Review, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, and Netherlands International Law Review.