tribunal

Pope Francis Abandons Proposal to Prosecute Bishops for Covering Up Abuse

Jun 5, 2016
Although the pontiff initially proposed a tribunal that would hold bishops accountable for protecting pedophile priests, he announced Saturday that he will instead clarify existing legal procedures. Although the pontiff initially proposed a tribunal that would hold bishops accountable for protecting pedophile priests, he announced Saturday that he will instead clarify existing legal procedures.

Obama Puts Gitmo Trials on Hold

Jan 21, 2009
President Obama has asked for a stay in all military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay while his administration figures out how to handle the legal cases of the detainees still held in the island prison. The move was welcomed by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU as a positive first step.
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Victor’s Justice

Jul 18, 2008
In what will be the Pentagon's first war crimes trial since World War II, the U.S. will go forward Monday in trying Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan. Unknown still is the trial date for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and the rest of the government cabal that also may have committed war crimes.

Colin Powell: Close Guantanamo Immediately

Jun 11, 2007
Colin Powell has come out against Guantanamo Bay: "Guantanamo has become a major, major problem in the way the world perceives America and if it were up to me I would close Guantanamo, not tomorrow but this afternoon" The former secretary of state has been eager to rehabilitate his image in recent years after a disastrous WMD sales pitch at the UN.

Improvisational Justice

Jun 8, 2007
Now we've bungled our own kangaroo courts. Two military judges, acting separately in the cases of two alleged terrorists, have dismissed war crimes charges against both. The legal reasoning is technical. But this breakdown is no technicality -- it is farce.

If at First You Don’t Convict, Try, Try Again

May 17, 2007
A federal appeals court is looking into the legitimacy of "do-overs" for detainee tribunals at Guantanamo Bay. Critics say the practice is unfair because it effectively allows the government to retry cases until it gets the results it wants, but there may not be much the high court can do under current legislation.

Defense Secretary Wanted Gitmo Closed

Mar 23, 2007
When the phrase "speaking on ground rules of anonymity" appears in The New York Times, we tend to get nervous, but a set of anonymous reports just caught our eye. According to those reports, our new defense secretary, right out of the gate (forgive the pun), argued for closing Guantanamo because its reputation had hurt the war effort. Robert M. Gates also reportedly argued that the detainees there should be brought to the U.S.