History
The American Bar Association announced in 2002 during the Bush administration that: "In response to the unprecedented attacks of September 11, on November 13, 2001, the President announced that certain non-citizens (of the USA) would be subject to detention and trial by military authorities. The order provides that non-citizens whom the President deems to be, or to have been, members of the al Qaeda organization or to have engaged in, aided or abetted, or conspired to commit acts of international terrorism that have caused, threaten to cause, or have as their aim to cause, injury to or adverse effects on the United States or its citizens, or to have knowingly harbored such individuals, are subject to detention by military authorities and trial before a military commission."
On September 28 and September 29, 2006, the US Senate and US House of Representatives, respectively, passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, a controversial bill that allows the President to designate certain people with the status of "unlawful enemy combatants" thus making them subject to military commissions, where they have fewer civil rights than in regular trials.
On June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld" Docket 05-194, with a 5-3 decision for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, effectively declaring that trying Guantanamo Bay detainees under the Guantanamo military commission (known also as Military Tribunal) was illegal under US law, including the Geneva Conventions.
Quoting the opinion (Paragraph 4, page 4), "4. The military commission at issue lacks the power to proceed because its structure and procedures violate both the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) and the four Geneva Conventions signed in 1949." Ultimately the Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush does not have the sole authority to hold tribunals and is required to get authorization to do so from the United States Congress.
With the War Crimes Act in mind, this ruling presented the Bush administration with the risk of criminal liability for war crimes. To address these legal problems, among other reasons, the Military Commissions Act was adopted.
Read more about this topic: Guantanamo Military Commission
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