EXTRAJUDICIAL DETENTION

'Extrajudicial detention' is the holding of captives, by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.
Detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states.

Contents

Writ of habeas corpus

Detention without charge by democratic countries

The United States use of extrajudicial detention during the "war on terror"

References

Writ of habeas corpus

In English speaking democracies, since the thirteenth century signing of the Magna Carta, captives were able to call upon the writ of habeas corpus — literally "show the body", a legal procedure where the state was required to show that there was a meaningful, legal justification for their detention.

Detention without charge by democratic countries

In recent decades some democratic countries have introduced limited mechanisms whereby individuals can be detained without being charged or convicted of a crime. See, for example, the Canadian Minister's Security Certificate.

The United States use of extrajudicial detention during the "war on terror"

During its "war on terror" the United States has made heavy use of extrajudicial detention.
Order Establishing Combatant Status Review Tribunal Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Only ten of the captives held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps faced charges. They faced charges before Guantanamo military commissions, which were struck down by the US Supreme Court.

References