USA: Court upholds habeas corpus stripping provisions of Military Commissions Act

On 20 February, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the provisions in the Military Commissions Act (MCA), which strip foreign nationals designated as “enemy combatants” of the statutory right to file habeas corpus petitions to challenge the legality of their detention. The Court held that individuals detained outside the US territory had no constitutional right to file habeas corpus petitions before US courts. The ruling came in the consolidated cases of hundreds of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay.

Ruling HCHR Statement