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90 Int'l Rev. Red Cross 573 (2008)
Human rights litigation and the war on terror

handle is hein.journals/intlrcs90 and id is 569 raw text is: Helen Duffy* Helen Duffy is the Litigation Director of INTERIGHTS, the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights. Abstract The 'war on terror' has led to grave human rights violations and, in response, to a growing volume of human rights litigation. This article provides an overview of litigation that has unfolded in recent years in relation to issues such as arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, extraordinary rendition, extraterritorial application of human rights norms and the creeping reach of the 'terrorism' label. These cases provide a prism through which are displayed key characteristics of the war on terror as it affects human rights, and enables us to begin to ask questions regarding the role of the courts and the impact of human rights litigation in this area. On 12 June 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States decided that persons detained by the United States in Guantlinamo Bay have the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus. The recognition that all detainees are entitled to this basic right, irrespective of their nationality, their designation as 'enemy combatants' or their offshore location, has been hailed as a victory for the rule of law. Jubilation is somewhat tempered by the fact that it took six years to decide that detainees are entitled to a protection that would normally guarantee judicial access within hours, days or maybe weeks. An early version of this paper was delivered as the Annual Public Lecture in International Law at the School of Law, London School of Economics, 11 October 2007. The author is very grateful to Silvia Borelli for research assistance and to Steven Watt, David Geer and Fabricio Guariglia for their helpful comments in the preparation of that speech. This article reflects the author's views only and not those of INTERIGHTS. 573

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