Does the Geneva Convention Entitle Hamdan to a Court-Martial?
Hamdan also raised claims under the 1949 Geneva Convention. That Convention, to which the U.S. and Afghanistan are signatories, makes clear that persons entitled to its benefits can only be tried for war crimes by the same tribunals that the detaining power uses to try offenses of its own combatants. Accordingly, Hamdan contended that he was entitled to be tried by court-martial – as a U.S. soldier, sailor or marine accused of an offense would have been. The D.C. Circuit rejected this contention for a number of reasons, each of which is individually sufficient to deny Hamdan relief. Can Civilian Courts Enforce the Geneva Convention? To begin, the D.C. Circuit ruled that the 1949 Geneva Convention does not confer on individuals any rights enforceable in the civilian courts of the United States. Article VI of the Constitution makes treaties “the supreme Law of the Land.” The Senate ratified the 1949 Geneva Convention, so why isn’t that enough to make its provisions binding rules of law i
