Detention of Suspected Terrorists

The detention of suspected terrorists has been a hotly contested topic in the United States for more than a decade. The debate is not only central to the continued detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but also implicates other areas, such as criminal justice and immigration. This course will provides an overview of the law surrounding the detention of terrorism suspects. With a focus on relevant authorities from U.S. constitutional, criminal, immigration, and military law. The course examines the U.S. approach against the background of international law, particularly international humanitarian law (the law of war) and international human rights law.

Learning Objectives:

I.     Gain an overview of U.S. policy surrounding the detention of terrorism suspects

II.    Understand the different bodies of domestic law potentially applicable to the detention of terrorism suspects

III.   Examine leading constitutional challenges to terrorism detentions in the courts

IV.   Obtain a basic understanding of how international law treats this subject