Detainee Treatment Act of 2005

Abstract

This Recent Development focuses on the legal standards that would govern the treatment and interrogation tactics applicable to detainees held by the United States abroad after the passage of the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA). The article first discusses the legal implications of the DTA as to U.S. law on the use of torture or CID treatment, which primarily concerns Sections 1002 and 1003 of the DTA. Then, it explores certain shortfalls in the scope of these sections on this issue, as the sections do not fully address all of the potential ways in which detainee abuse and torture might continue. Finally, a brief summary of the other sections of the DTA is presented.

Keywords: torture, national security, detainee, detainee treatment act, detention, guantanamo, war on terrorism, war on terror, terrorism, laws of war