Air India Inquiry
The Globe and Mail released an article this morning on the subject of the terms of reference that have been given to Justice John Major at the outset of the new Air India Commission of Inquiry. The full details on the commission are not available to the public yet, but we can expect a website dedicated to the proceedings to be launched in the near future, along the lines of the Arar Commission’s site.
Colin Freeze of the Globe and Mail is reporting that Justice Major is being asked to undertake a full review of the methods the Canadian government uses to try terrorism suspects, and to ponder the merits of judicial tribunals for terrorism cases as well as the relationship between security intelligence and ‘normal’ evidence in the context of a criminal trial.
Needless to say, this is a big deal. It broadens the scope of the inquiry beyond the events surrounding the Air India investigation, and sets the stage for potentially serious policy changes. Legal critics, including the lawyers representing Maher Arar, have expressed concern at what they see as the terms of references’ implication that the existing Canadian system for prosecuting terrorists is in some way inadequate.
There is some speculation that one of the driving forces for this section of the inquiry is the desire of the Canadian government to appear to be taking a harder line on terrorism prosecutions, following the recent US State Department Country Report on Terrorism, which slams Canada for having ‘only one’ person currently standing trial for terrorism in this country.
Kent Roach, of the University of Toronto, has written on this story for the Toronto Star. Among other observations, Roach calls the Air India bombings ‘Canada’s own 9/11,’ and suggests that the Commission of Inquiry ought to be as much about the future [of terrorism trials and investigations] as the past. He enumerates a few of the challenges faced by Justice Major.
US Detention Practices
In an interview with German television, US President George W Bush has said that he would like to ‘end’ the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay. The problem, he says, is figuring out how to try the detainees. In a press release, Amnesty International called for Bush to ‘make it happen.’
This statement, a departure for the Bush administration, comes at a time when the Guantanamo facility is becoming increasingly unpopular amongst America’s allies. The Guardian reported on Sunday that the British Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, will be calling for the closure of the ‘unacceptable’ facility at a conference this week. This will represent a departure from the official British position on Guantanamo, which is one of cautious acceptance.
To provide further context for these stories, it is important to note that US detention policy and practice are currently the subjects of discussion for the UN Committee Against Torture, in Geneva. A US delegation today told the committee that the American government is taking (and has taken) steps to deal with the widespread reports of detainee mistreatment in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The UN Committee is asking the US delegates a series of questions regarding American detention policy, the US position on torture, the steps taken to deal with situations like Abu Ghraib, and the operation of secret prisons (‘black sites’) in Europe. Additional information on the proceedings can be found here.
All for now,
- Mike
The Globe and Mail released an article this morning on the subject of the terms of reference that have been given to Justice John Major at the outset of the new Air India Commission of Inquiry. The full details on the commission are not available to the public yet, but we can expect a website dedicated to the proceedings to be launched in the near future, along the lines of the Arar Commission’s site.
Colin Freeze of the Globe and Mail is reporting that Justice Major is being asked to undertake a full review of the methods the Canadian government uses to try terrorism suspects, and to ponder the merits of judicial tribunals for terrorism cases as well as the relationship between security intelligence and ‘normal’ evidence in the context of a criminal trial.
Needless to say, this is a big deal. It broadens the scope of the inquiry beyond the events surrounding the Air India investigation, and sets the stage for potentially serious policy changes. Legal critics, including the lawyers representing Maher Arar, have expressed concern at what they see as the terms of references’ implication that the existing Canadian system for prosecuting terrorists is in some way inadequate.
There is some speculation that one of the driving forces for this section of the inquiry is the desire of the Canadian government to appear to be taking a harder line on terrorism prosecutions, following the recent US State Department Country Report on Terrorism, which slams Canada for having ‘only one’ person currently standing trial for terrorism in this country.
Kent Roach, of the University of Toronto, has written on this story for the Toronto Star. Among other observations, Roach calls the Air India bombings ‘Canada’s own 9/11,’ and suggests that the Commission of Inquiry ought to be as much about the future [of terrorism trials and investigations] as the past. He enumerates a few of the challenges faced by Justice Major.
US Detention Practices
In an interview with German television, US President George W Bush has said that he would like to ‘end’ the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay. The problem, he says, is figuring out how to try the detainees. In a press release, Amnesty International called for Bush to ‘make it happen.’
This statement, a departure for the Bush administration, comes at a time when the Guantanamo facility is becoming increasingly unpopular amongst America’s allies. The Guardian reported on Sunday that the British Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, will be calling for the closure of the ‘unacceptable’ facility at a conference this week. This will represent a departure from the official British position on Guantanamo, which is one of cautious acceptance.
To provide further context for these stories, it is important to note that US detention policy and practice are currently the subjects of discussion for the UN Committee Against Torture, in Geneva. A US delegation today told the committee that the American government is taking (and has taken) steps to deal with the widespread reports of detainee mistreatment in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The UN Committee is asking the US delegates a series of questions regarding American detention policy, the US position on torture, the steps taken to deal with situations like Abu Ghraib, and the operation of secret prisons (‘black sites’) in Europe. Additional information on the proceedings can be found here.
All for now,
- Mike
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