Human rights and indefinite detention

International Review of the Red Cross

Volumn 87, Issue 857, 2005, Pages 15-38

  de Zayas, Alfred ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA   (Canada)

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EID: 84928271110     PISSN: 18163831     EISSN: 16075889     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S1816383100181172     Document Type: Article

References (79)

1. Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead in the eight to one majority ruling of the House of Lords on the appeal of 11 detainees held at the high-security Belmarsh prison dubbed the “British Guantanamo”. A(FC) and others (EC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent), paragraph 74 of judgment of 16 December 2004. BBC News “Terror detainees win Lords appeal”; available at (last visited 17 January 2005).
2. Glenn Frankel “British anti-terror law reined in”, Washington Post, 16 December 2004. In the same sense, Lord Leonard Hoffmann commented: “there are no adequate grounds for abolishing or suspending the right not to be imprisoned without trial, which all inhabitants of this country have enjoyed for more than three centuries”, cited in Amnesty International Press Release of 16 December 2004.
3. Washington Post.
4. A. de Zayas “La dérogation et le Comité des Droits de l'Homme des Nations Unies” in Daniel Prémont et al. (eds.), Droits Intangibles et Etats d'Exception, Bruylant, Brussels, 1996, pp. 213–234.
5. In its General Comment No. 8 concerning Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Committee noted “that paragraph 1 is applicable to all deprivations of liberty, whether in criminal cases or in other cases such as, for example, mental illness, vagrancy, drug addiction, educational purposes, immigration control, etc.”; in “International human rights instruments: Compilation of general comments and general recommendations adopted by human rights treaty bodies”, UN Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev. 7 (2004), p. 130, para. 1.
6. UNTS, Vol. 999, p. 171, 16 December 1966, entered into force 23 March 1976; 154 States Parties as of January 2005.
7. Alfred de Zayas “The examination of individual complaints by the United Nations Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”, in G. Alfredsson et al. (eds), International Human Rights Monitoring Mechanisms, Martinus Nijhof Publishers, The Hague, 2001, pp. 67–121.
8. Also A. de Zayas, “Desarrollo jurisprudencial del Comité de Derechos Humanos”, in Carlos Jiménez Piernas (ed.), Iniciación a la Práctica en Derecho International, Marcial Pons, Madrid, 2003, pp. 215–277.
9. See in particular case No.305/1988 (Van Alphen v. Vie Netherlands) UN Doc. A/45/40, Vol. 2, Annex IX, Sect. M, para. 5.8: “The drafting history of Article 9, paragraph 1, confirms that ‘arbitrariness’ is not to be equated with ‘against the law’, but must be interpreted more broadly to include elements of inappropriateness, injustice and lack of predictability. This means that remand in custody pursuant to lawful arrest must not only be lawful but reasonable in all the circumstances.”
10. Manfred Nowak, U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Commentary. N.P. Engel, Kehl, Strasbourg, 1993, pp. 172 ff.
11. General Comment, No. 8, Commentary. N.P. Engel. (note 5), p. 131, para. 4.
12. Commentary. N.P. Engel. See also Bolaños v. Ecuador, case No. 238/1987, where the Committee found a violation of Article 9, paragraph 3, because Mr Bolaños was held in pre-trial detention for over five years. UN Doc. A/44/40, Annex X, Sec. I, para. 8.3.
13. See also General Comment No. 31, in “International human rights instruments: Compilation of general comments and general recommendations adopted by human rights treaty bodies”, UN Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7 (2004), p. 195, “The nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States party to the Covenant”, adopted on 29 March 2004, para. 11. The International Court of Justice, too, has observed “that the protection of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights does not cease in times of war, except by operation of Article 4 of the Covenant, whereby certain provisions may be derogated from in a time of national emergency”
14. Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, [1996] ICJ Reports, p. 226, para. 25.
15. Alfred de Zayas, “The status of Guantánamo Bay and the status of the detainees”, 37 UBC Law Review, Vol. 37, 2004, pp. 288 ff.
16. An American citizen Ahmed Abu Ali is being detained in Saudi Arabia and reportedly tortured. US District Judge John Bates wrote in an opinion on the case that Mr. Abu Ali's lawyers “have not only alleged, but have presented some unrebutted evidence that [his] detention is at the behest and ongoing direction of United States officials.” “Saudi subcontractors”, Washington Post, 20 December 2004, page A22.
17. General Comment No. 8, Washington Post. (note 5)
18. General Comment No. 31, Washington Post. (note 10), para. 10.
19. General Comment No. 15 on “The position of aliens under the Covenant”, adopted at the Committee's twenty-seventh session in 1986, in “International human rights instruments: Compilation of general comments and general recommendations adopted by human rights treaty bodies”, UN Doc. HRI/GEN/l/Rev.7 (2004), pp. 140 ff.
20. General Comment No. 29, “Derogation during a state of emergency”, in “International human rights instruments: Compilation of general comments and general recommendations adopted by human rights treaty bodies”, UN Doc. HRI/GEN/l/Rev.7 (2004), pp. 184 ff.
21. UNTS, Vol. 660, p. 195, 21 December 1984, entered into force on 26 June 1987.
22. Neil A. Lewis, “Red Cross criticises indefinite detention in Guantánamo Bay”, New York Times, 10 October 2003, page 1.
23. “Red Cross blasts Guantanamo” BBC News, 10 October 2003. The senior Red Cross official in Washington D.C. Christophe Girod, stated that it was intolerable that the complex was used as “an investigation centre, not a detention centre (…). The open-endedness of the situation and its impact on the health of the population has become a major problem.”
24. Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 12 August 1949, UNTS, Vol. 75, p. 135, entered into force on 21 October 1950.
25. Jean S. Pictet (ed.), Commentary: III Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, 1960, pp. 540 ff.
26. Helmut Strebel, “Martens Clause”, in R. Bernhardt (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Public International Law, Vol. 3, 1997, p. 326.
27. Prosecutor v. Delalic et al, Judgment IT-96–21-T, 16 November 1998, para. 271.
28. Council of Europe, European Convention on Human Rights/Convention curopéenne des Droits de l'homme, Collected Texts/Recueil de textes, Strasbourg, 1981.
29. OASTS, No. 36, UNTS, Vol. 1144, p. 123, of 22 November 1969, entered into force on 18 July 1978.
30. Human Rights Watch, “Malaysia's Internal Security Act and suppression of political dissent”, available at: (last visited 17 January 2005).
31. Malaysia, Internal Security Laws, Malaysian Law Publishers, Kuala Lumpur, 1982, p. 52 ff.
32. House of Lords, A(FC) and others (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent), Opinion of 16 December 2004, para. 231.
33. Alfred de Zayas, F.R. (note 11), pp. 277–341.
34. See e.g. Coalition of the Clergy v. Bush, 189 F. Supp. 2nd 1036 (CD. Cal. 2002).
35. Lord Johan Steyn, “Guantánamo Bay: The legal black hole”, 27th F. A. Mann Lecture to the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 53 ICLQ 1–15 (2004).
36. “U.S. to free 140 Guantánamo war detainees” Reuters, 30 November 2003
37. “Transfer of juvenile detainees completed” (concerning the release to their home countries of three juvenile detainees who had been detained in Guantánamo for two years), Department of Defence News Release No. 057–04, 29 January 2004; “Delight at release of Guantánamo men”, BBC News, 11 March 2004 (it is interesting to note that all Guantánamo detainees released to the United Kingdom were freed without charge by British authorities shortly after their arrival and interrogation)
38. Alan Cowell, “4 Britons and an American to be freed at Guantánamo”, New York Times, 12 January 2005.
39. BBC News, 6 August 2004, (last visited 17 January 2005).
40. Al Odah et al v. United States (No. 03–343) 2004
41. Rasut v. Bush (No. 03–334) 2004. (last visited 17 January 2005).
42. BBC News, Nick Childs, BBC Pentagon Correspondent “US may hold cleared detainees”, 25 February 2004, (last visited 17 January 2005).
43. Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Case No. 03–6696, 2004 U.S. LEXIS 4761 at 51.
44. Jerry Markon, “Hamdi returned to Saudi Arabia: U.S. Citizen's detention as enemy combatant sparked fierce debate”, Washington Post, 12 October 2004, p. A02.
45. Robert A. Levy, “Jose Padilla: No charges and no trial, just jail”, Cato Institute, 21 August 2003, (last visited 17 January 2005).
46. Selected Decisions of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol, Volume I, p. 42. UN Doc.CCPR/C/OP/1, New York, 1985.
47. Selected Decisions of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol., p. 49 para. 16.
48. See also case No. 43/1979 Drescher v. Uruguay, Selected Decisions, UN Doc. CCPR/C/OP/2, Volume 2, pp. 80 ff., para. 14; case No. 84/1981, Dermit v. Uruguay, pp. 112 ff., para. 10; No. 107/1981, Almeida de Quinteros v. Uruguay, pp. 138 ff.; No. 139/1981 Conteris v. Uruguay, pp. 168 ff., para. 10.
49. UN Doc. CCPR/C/OP/2., Vol. I, p. 44, para. 10.
50. UN Doc. CCPR/C/OP/2., Vol. I, p. 91, para. 13.
51. UN Doc. CCPR/C/OP/2., Vol. I, p. 104, para. 20.
52. UN Doc. CCPR/C/OP/2., Vol. I, p. 107, paras. 9.2 and 15.
53. Rachel L. Swarns, “Illegal aliens can be held indefinitely, Ashcroft says”, New York Times, 26 April 2003.
54. Benitez v. Rozos, No. 03–7434, and Clark v. Martinez, No. 03–8978, were argued before the Supreme Court on 13 October 2004. See Stanley Mailman and Stephen Yale-Loehr, New York Law Journal, 25 October 2004.
55. See also Charles Gordon, Stanley Mailman and Stephen yale-Loehr, Immigration Law and Procedure §62.01 (rev. ed. 2004)
56. Stephen Henderson, “Justices question indefinite detention of Cubans due deportation”, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 14 October 2004, p. 10
57. Steve Lash, “Court mulls Cubans' indefinite detention”, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, 14 October 2004, p. 2. See also Amicus Brief of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Centre and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Mr Benitez: (last visited 17 January 2005).
58. U.S., at 699.
59. See (last visited 17 January 2005). See also “Supreme Court agrees to consider immigrant detention case”, 16 January 2004, available at (last visited 17 January 2005).
60. Case No 560/1993, Views adopted on 3 April 1997, UN Doc. A/52/40, Vol. II, Annex VI Sec. L.
61. Case No. 900/1999, C. v. Australia, Views adopted 28 October 2002. UN Doc. A/58/40, Vol., II, Annex VI R.
62. United Nations Economic and Social Council, Commission on Human Rights, Civil and Political Rights, including Questions of: Torture and Detention, Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, UN Doc. E/CN4/2000/4, (1999) Annex 2.
63. In its Deliberation No 5, the Working Group proposes a number of principles concerning the detention of asylum-seekers, including Principle 7, which requires that detention should be for a defined period “set by law” and “may in no case be unlimited or of excessive length”: Annex 2, p. 30.
64. Woolley (Manager of the Baxter Immigration Detention Centre)
65. Ex parte, Applicants M276/2003 by their Next Friend GS, paras. 114–116.
66. C. v. Australia, Ex parte. (note 54).
67. UN Doc. A/58/40, Ex parte. (note 54), para. 8.4.
68. UN Doc. A/58/40, Vol. II, Annex VI CC, para. 6.6.
69. A. v. Australia, Case No 560/1993, Views adopted on 3 April 1997, UN Doc. A/52/40, Annex VI Sec. L.
70. UN Doc. A/52/40., para. 7.2.
71. Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, UN ESC HCHROR, 59th Session, UN. Doc. E/CN.4/2003/8.
72. BBC News, 11 March 2004, (last visited 17 January 2005).
73. UN Doc. A/58/40, Vol. II, Annex VI R, para. 10.
74. UN Doc. A/59/40, Vol. II, Annex IX DD, para. 11.
75. UN Doc. A/58/40, Vol. I, para. 225.
76. UN Doc A/59/40, Vol. 1, para. 230.
77. Le Monde, 4 January 2005, concerning two ex-Guantánamo detainees, Mourad Benchellali and Nizar Sassi. The judge in Lyon had refused to take jurisdiction arguing that “aucune convention internationale ne donne competence aux juridictions françaises pour connaitre la situation dont les parties civiles se plaignent, laquelle est le résultat, sous l'égide des Nations Unies, de ripostes á des actes terroristes et qui ne saurait dès lors être regie par le seul droit français.”
78. Le Monde. The lawyer of the two ex-Guantánamo detainees, Maitre William Bourdon, commented: “C'est une décision de principe très importante parce que la Cour de cassation refuse l'idée que, s'agissant de la lutte contre le terrorisme, la fin justifie les moyens et que le droit international humanitaire et le droit français s'effacent devant les résolutions de l'ONU (…). Cela ouvre la voie à des poursuites pénales.”
79. Lord Leonard Hoffmann in the judgment of 16 December 2004, Le Monde. (note 1), para. 97.