Habeas Corpus, Judicial Review, and Limits on Secrecy in Detentions at Guantánamo
44 Pages Posted: 24 Sep 2007
Abstract
This Article examines the role habeas corpus has played in limiting secrecy in detentions at the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Paradoxically, Guantánamo provides the best window into the constellation of issues surrounding secrecy and related issues in post-September 11 detentions because more is known about it than any other post-September 11 detention site. Since the United States started bringing prisoners to Guantánamo in January 2002, the base has been transformed from a state of near-total secrecy to a quasi-regulated prison that is subject to significant, if still limited, oversight and legal process. This Article describes how habeas corpus has helped subject detentions at Guantánamo to independent oversight and curb the secrecy that was so prevalent before. It also examines why habeas corpus guarantees a meaningful inquiry into the factual and legal basis for a prisoner's detention, and its relationship to other issues such as access to counsel, detainee transfers, and the availability of a meaningful remedy.
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