TERRORISM: COMMENTARY ON SECURITY DOCUMENTS VOLUME 129: Detention Under International Law: The State of Emergency Exception and Evolving Topics

Terrorism: Commentary on Security Documents is a series that provides primary source documents and expert commentary on various topics in the worldwide effort to combat terrorism. Among the documents collected are transcripts of Congressional testimony, reports by such federal government bodies as the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), United Nations Security Council resolutions, reports and investigations by the United Nations Secretary-General and other dedicated UN bodies, and case law from the U.S. and around the globe covering issues related to terrorism. Most volumes carry a single theme, and inside each volume the documents appear within topic-based categories. The series also includes a subject index and other indices that guide the user through this complex area of the law.

Volume 129, Detention Under International Law: The State of Emergency Exception and Evolving Topics, is the second in a three-volume arc that looks at detention under international law. In this volume, Professor Kristen Boon describes how international human rights instruments and courts at the regional and multinational levels have carved out a state of emergency exception to allow for detention in some circumstances. This volume frames and discusses two emerging topics in detention: the right of habeas corpus (the right to challenge one’s detention), and the broadening intersection between international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Professor Boon illustrates her commentary by organizing treaties, reports by UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, judgments in regional international human rights courts, and through comments, adjudications, and reports from UN human rights treaty bodies.