To appropriate from a sentiment expressed by the English Court of Appeal in the Abbassi judgment (6 November 2002), in the very year in which over 80 states have reaffirmed their commitment to the international rule of law, in respect of all acts, by bringing into force the Statute of the International Criminal Court, what appears especially "objectionable is that [a British national held at Camp X-Ray] should be subject to indefinite detention in territory over which the United States has exclusive control with no opportunity to challenge the legitimacy of his detention before any court or tribunal."

Philippe Sands is Professor of Law and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College, London.