United States: Military commissions dismiss charges against Salim Hamdan and Omar Khadr

On 4 June, two military judges rejected cases against Salim Hamdan and Omar Khadr on the ground that military commissions did not have jurisdiction over O. Khadr and S. Hamdan, as they had been classified as “enemy combatants” and not “unlawful enemy combatants”. On 4 July, the Pentagon prosecutors filed an appeal in the case of Omar Khadr to the new Court of Military Commissions Review, claiming that the designation of “enemy combatant” is sufficient to establish jurisdiction, and that in any case a military judge can determine the status of “unlawful enemy combatant”.