Legal Advisor (OARDEC)
Encyclopedia
A Legal Advisor, and an Assistant Legal Advisor were part of the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants team tasked to conduct Combatant Status Review Tribunal
s of captives held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
The identity of the officers who served as the Tribunal Presidents
, the Tribunal members, the Recorder
or the Personal Representative
were kept secret. 58 unclassified dossiers containing a review of the Tribunal's legal sufficiency were separately released under separate Freedom of Information Act requests in 2005.
And additional 121 unclassified dossiers were released in September 2007.
Each Tribunal that convened had the Summary of Evidence memo
that contained the allegations against the captive, the transcripts of both the unclassified and classified sessions of the Tribunals, and all the exhibits and other documents generated for that captives Tribunal reviewed by the Legal Advisor, who would then draft a memo where they stated the conclusions they drew during their "legal sufficiency review".
The legal advisors included Commander
James R. Crisfield, Commander Teresa A. McPalmer and Assistant Legal Advisor Navy
Lieutanant Peter C. Bradford.
citizen Moazzam Begg
had requested two witnesses who he felt would substantiate that an employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross
had issued him a Geneva Convention Prisoner of War
card.
Begg had requested the testimony of the ICRC employeed, and of an American officer, who had knowledge of his POW
status. His Tribunal's President had initially ruled that Begg's witnesses were relevant.
However the assistant legal advisor convinced her that these witnesses were not relevant, because Combatant Status Review Tribunals weren't authorized to determine whether captives were entitled to the protections of Prisoner of War status.
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
s of captives held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
The identity of the officers who served as the Tribunal Presidents
Tribunal President (CSRT)
The Combatant Status Review Tribunal the US Department of Defense commissioned, like the Tribunals described in Army Regulation 190-8, which they were modeled after, were three member panels, led by a Tribunal President.-History of the Tribunals:...
, the Tribunal members, the Recorder
Recorder (CSRT)
One of the officers present during the Combatant Status Review Tribunals convened at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, was known as the Recorder....
or the Personal Representative
Personal Representative (CSRT)
The Personal Representative is an officer who serves before the Combatant Status Review Tribunals, convened for the captives the United States holds in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.-History of the Tribunals:...
were kept secret. 58 unclassified dossiers containing a review of the Tribunal's legal sufficiency were separately released under separate Freedom of Information Act requests in 2005.
And additional 121 unclassified dossiers were released in September 2007.
Each Tribunal that convened had the Summary of Evidence memo
Summary of Evidence (CSRT)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the 558 captives who remained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba in the fall of 2004.-The 2005 release:...
that contained the allegations against the captive, the transcripts of both the unclassified and classified sessions of the Tribunals, and all the exhibits and other documents generated for that captives Tribunal reviewed by the Legal Advisor, who would then draft a memo where they stated the conclusions they drew during their "legal sufficiency review".
The legal advisors included Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
James R. Crisfield, Commander Teresa A. McPalmer and Assistant Legal Advisor Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Lieutanant Peter C. Bradford.
Moazzam Begg's Tribunal
UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
citizen Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg , is a British Pakistani Muslim who was held in extrajudicial detention in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the U.S...
had requested two witnesses who he felt would substantiate that an employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
had issued him a Geneva Convention Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
card.
Begg had requested the testimony of the ICRC employeed, and of an American officer, who had knowledge of his POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
status. His Tribunal's President had initially ruled that Begg's witnesses were relevant.
However the assistant legal advisor convinced her that these witnesses were not relevant, because Combatant Status Review Tribunals weren't authorized to determine whether captives were entitled to the protections of Prisoner of War status.