Why Did Congress Pass the Military Commissions Act?
In June 2006, the Supreme Court found in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that military commissions at Guantanamo created by President Bush were invalid. The court said that the rules violated Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions regarding the treatment of detainees being held indefinitely. After the decision, President Bush asked Congress to pass legislation that would make the military commission trials legal and strip detainees of their due process habeas rights — which they did by passing the Military Commissions Act right before November 2006 elections. How Does the Military Commissions Act Take Away Habeas Rights? Section 6 of Military Commissions Act strips any non-citizen, declared an “enemy combatant” by any president, of the right to be heard in court to establish his or her innocence, regardless of how long he or she is held without charge. This habeas-stripping provision applies to the detainees held in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. It violates the Constitution and
