Defense Lawyers at Guantánamo. The Difficulties and Ethical Dilemmas Facing Defense Lawyers Representing Detainees at Guantánamo

Abstract: The Bush administration expanded the executive’s powers in the “war on terror”. This gave the president, according to the administration, authority to detain “en-emy combatants” indefinitely at the US naval base in Guantánamo. The official purpose of the detention centre at Guantánamo was that the suspected terrorists were to be tried in military commissions. The administration bypassed the criminal legal system and the military courts under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and instead created a new legal system. This system allowed, among other things, the use of secret and hearsay evidence and evidence obtained through coercion. A number of scholars have contended that there has been a politicization of justice in the cases concerning the detainees at Guantánamo and the independ-ence of the legal system there has been questioned. Not until more than two years after the opening of Guantánamo were defense lawyers allowed at the base. Because of the nature of the legal system at Guantánamo, there were rules imposed on the defense lawyers that in many ways constituted challenges for them. This thesis examines those challenges and thereby sheds light on the Bush administration’s policies at Guantánamo.