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Judicial review and the Military Commissions Act: on striking the right balance.(Agora (continued): Military Commissions Act of 2006)
- Article from:
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American Journal of International Law
- Article date:
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April 1, 2007
- Author:
- Martin, David A.
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2007 American Society of International Law. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Hamdanv. Rumsfeld (1) seemed a promising example of a special form of judicial role. Abstaining from deploying its ultimate power to judge the constitutionality of an action of a political branch, the United States Supreme Court used statutory construction to give a strong nudge in a direction favorable to human rights. It negated a questionable and controversial policy--President George W. Bush's unilateral establishment of military commissions to try terrorist suspects by means of reduced procedures--and essentially remanded the matter to Congress. The initial fruits of that remand, the Military Commissions Act (MCA), (2) came as a disappointment. The Act cuts back on ...