Supreme Court Affirms The Rule Of World Law
The Supreme Court this week ruled that the Bush Administration could not establish by decree its own courts within the military. The military had been attempting to try on its own the detainees from Afghanistan and Iraq that it is holding at Guantanamo, Cuba. It was hoping to be able to use its own rules of evidence. This was a big defeat for a would-be king. You can't rebirth the government from within.
A corporation's executives can manage so poorly that they drive the company's stock into the ground. They can then buy the company out at a low price, taking it back into private hands. This practice may not work with government.
Completing the return to a three-fold system, the White House bowed to Congress:
When a treaty is created, it becomes the law of all nations that subscribe to it. Each subscribing nation makes that treaty its own law. Even though there is no world government, an international law gets created. An example of this is the Geneva Conventions. Mr. Bush considers them advisory.
Mr. Bush has a belief, told to him by those he hired, that he can go outside the law to protect the country against its enemies. Some of the things he does - like allowing torture - create more enemies, and an even greater need for Mr. Bush to go outside the law. Democracy suffers.
The Supreme Court has said that the law rules. The government cannot act outside the law, national or international.
A corporation's executives can manage so poorly that they drive the company's stock into the ground. They can then buy the company out at a low price, taking it back into private hands. This practice may not work with government.
Completing the return to a three-fold system, the White House bowed to Congress:
"... the White House and other administration officials quickly signalled they would try to consult with Congress to refine rules for such commissions, in line with the landmark Supreme Court judgement."In making its decision, the Court observed that the President's special little court system violated both United States Law - the Uniform Code of Military Justice - and international law - the Geneva Conventions.
When a treaty is created, it becomes the law of all nations that subscribe to it. Each subscribing nation makes that treaty its own law. Even though there is no world government, an international law gets created. An example of this is the Geneva Conventions. Mr. Bush considers them advisory.
Mr. Bush has a belief, told to him by those he hired, that he can go outside the law to protect the country against its enemies. Some of the things he does - like allowing torture - create more enemies, and an even greater need for Mr. Bush to go outside the law. Democracy suffers.
The Supreme Court has said that the law rules. The government cannot act outside the law, national or international.
posted by Dan McIntyre at 7:49 AM
1 Comments:
A New York Times editorial today notes that the court's decision has far-reaching implications:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/opinion/30fri1.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Money quote:
"The justices rejected the administration's constant refrain — made in everything from its "enemy combatant" policies to its defense of the National Security Agency's domestic spying — that the authority Congress granted the president to use force after Sept. 11, the exigencies of wartime, or simply the inherent powers of the presidency allow President Bush to trample on existing laws as he sees fit."
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