| Sumario: | To the relief of many of America's allies, not least Tony Blair, the Supreme Court announced on November 10th that it would consider the fate of the 660 foreign "enemy combatants" held at the American naval base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. The appeal had been filed on behalf of 12 Kuwaitis, two Britons and two Australians, who are demanding the right for their cases to be heard by proper American courts, as opposed to the military tribunals the Pentagon is supposed to be arranging for them. The Supreme Court will not consider whether the detainees are being held illegally. Instead, it will look at the technical issue of the legal status of the Guantánamo base, and whether America's civilian courts have jurisdiction over its detainees. In making that decision, the court may also examine the status of all foreigners captured overseas in the war on terror. But even if the court decides that American law extends to the Guantánamo base, thus giving the detainees the protection of the American constitution as well as access to civilian courts, they will still have to convince the courts that they should be freed. In the end, the Supreme Court will have to balance two concepts--the courts' deference to the executive branch on issues of national security during time of war, and any individual's right to due process.
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