The habeas laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The habeas laws - Essay Example . The notable ones among these include the Vietnamese war, the war with the Iraqi government under the strong leadership of the famous President Sadam Hussein, the war against Osama bin Laden and his Afghanistan based terrorists group, The Al Qaeda, commonly known as the war on terror are some of the most recognized wars that the America government has fought since the end of the cold wars. The war on terror against the terror group of Afghanistan under the leadership of Osama bin Laden begun as a result of the bombing attacks on the twins tower and world trade center in Washington DC which led to the death of hundreds of people, dozens escaping with injuries of various degrees and thousands around the world grieving for the loss of their loved ones, friends and relatives. Over seven hundred prisoners have been captured In relation to these attacks, a couple of them have been tried and released without fines while some of them, around 169 are still serving jail terms in GITMO, a prison inside a U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, on land leased from the government of Cuba. The bush administration chose on this land for the detention of these prisoners in order to escape the legal challenges that would arise from the supreme courts of America questioning the authenticity for the indefinite detention of the prisoners of war by the bush administration contrary to the requirements of the habeas corpus laws which gives rights to the detainees to be heard before detainment. The habeas corpus laws states that, any persons detained by the government is entitled to a judicial hearing to determine if there is any legal basis for their detention, that is, the law protects any detainee from detention lacking sufficient cause or evidence which is in line with articl e 1, section 9 of the constitution of the united states of America which states that â€Å"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." (Jackson, 2006, 312) This paper will examine the right of habeas corpus in the context of the war on terror on the bid to offer protection to the detainees at GITMO and it origin development and existence in the American and British context today. The general meaning of the right of habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution The habeas laws found their way into the American constitution through the suspension laws defined in the constitution of the United States of America which included the common laws of England. As a result this law was supported by the enactment of the article 1 section 9, clause 2 of the constitution demanding that â€Å"The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invas ion the public safety may require it." (Turner, 2002, 115) Carpenter notes that from the onset of this enactment, the constitution of the united states accords every person an undisputable right to make a plea to the federal courts for the summons of habeas corpus in case of any form of detention filled as pro se cases whereby the government is usually called upon to answer before the court the logical reason behind the arrest and detention of an individual by state authorities (Carpenter, 1902, 25). The habeas laws were then transmitted down to the individual state governments which as well allow their respective citizens to petition the state authorities in their own state courts with respect to their individual state constitutions when they happened to be sentenced by the state authorities. The federal habeas did not apply to those under police custody even up to the time of the war on terrorism. In order to ensure that state courts implement the federal