After earlier criticism from human rights organisations and many foreign governments regarding the determination that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 do not apply to the detainees held in Cuba, President Bush shifted position with an announcement that Taliban fighters are covered by the 1949 Geneva Conventions, while al Qaeda fighters are not. Taliban fighters are not to be treated as prisoners of war (POW), however, because they reportedly fail to meet international standards as lawful combatants The decision is not likely to affect the treatment of any of the detainees held at the US. The...

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...

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 t