Counter-terrorism and the Detention of Suspected Terrorists

Terrorists and Fair Trial: The Right to a Fair Trial for Alleged Terrorists Detained in Guantánamo Bay

“…This requires, first of all, an exceptional threat, such as a war or other public emergency that threatens the life of the nation. 144 Although it is accepted that a terrorist threat can also constitute such a threat, 145 this requirement has to be interpreted restrictively. For example, the HRC stressed that even during an armed conflict a threat to the nation's life does not follow automatically.…”

“…147 With regard to the detention of suspected terrorists, it is therefore necessary that the terrorist threat is 'actual or imminent' , affecting the state as a whole and thereby threatening the 'continuance of the organised life of the community' so that ordinary countermeasures (permitted by the human rights treaties) are insufficient. 148 Even if one suggests that these requirements have been satisfied immediately after 9/11, it is doubtful that this should still be considered true eleven years later. 149 Apart from these doubts, the US has never notified, as required by Article 4(3) ICCPR, the UN Secretary-General of any state of emergency.…”