One of the most important questions in the current Guantanamo detainee litigation is whether the United States may prosecute individuals in military commissions for offenses that are not recognized as war crimes under international law. The United States maintains that such offenses-particularly, material support for terrorism and conspiracy-are violations of the`US common law of war' , a form of customary domestic liability in armed conflict distinct from international law. This paper offers a critique of the US theory from the perspective of international criminal law practice and theory. In particular, it explains how the US position unduly expands the conception of war crimes liability, thereby distorting the meaning of a war crime and undermining the value of prosecuting conduct on that basis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.