Military Police: Enemy Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian Internees and Other Detainees

Military Police: Enemy Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian Internees and Other Detainees is the full title of a United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

regulation usually referred to as AR 190-8, that lays out how the United States Army

United States Army

should treat captives.

This document is notable as the United States Supreme Court advised the Department of Defense, in its ruling on Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 was a U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing the dismissal of a habeas corpus petition brought on behalf of Yaser Esam Hamdi, a U.S. citizen being detained indefinitely as an "illegal enemy combatant." The Court recognized the power of the government to detain enemy...

, that the Tribunals

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...

the DoD convened to review the status of the Guantanamo captives should be modeled after the Tribunals described in AR-190-8.

The authority of AR 190-8 Tribunals

As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions the United States is obliged to convene a "competent tribunal

Competent tribunal

Competent Tribunal is a term used Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Third Geneva Convention, which states:-ICRC commentary on competent tribunals:...

" to determine the status of any captive "should any doubt arise" as to their proper status.

The Third Geneva Convention

Third Geneva Convention

The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...

states that all captives must be accorded the protections of POW status until a competent tribunal convenes, and determines the captive does not qualify as a "lawful combatant"..

AR-190-8 Tribunals are authorized to confirm that a captive is a lawful combatant, after all, who should continue to be detained, as a 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...

, until hostilities cease.
AR-190-8 Tribunals are authorized to determine that a captive is an innocent civilian, who should be immediately released.
AR-190-8 Tribunals are authorized to confirm that a captive is combatant who acted in a way that they should be stripped of the protections of Prisoner of War status. According to the Geneva Conventions, only captives who have been stripped of POW status, by a competent tribunal, can face charges for any actions they committed on the battlefield.

Structure of AR-190-8 Tribunals and Combatant Status Review Tribunals compared

AR-190-8 Tribunal	Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Authorized to confirm that a captive is a lawful combatant. Authorized to determine that a captives is an innocent civilian. Authorized to determine that a combatant should be stripped of the protections of POW status, and can, subsequently, face war crime charges.	Authorized to confirm or dispute earlier, secret determinations that captives are "enemy combatant Enemy combatant Enemy combatant is a term historically referring to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. Prior to 2008, the definition was: "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war." In the case of a civil war or an... s". Explicitly not authorized to determine whether captives qualify for the protections of POW status.
Three officers, presided by a field grade officer, make the determination, on the preponderance of the evidence.	Three officers, whose President 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:... is a field grade officer, make the determination, on the preponderance of the evidence. One of the officers must be a military lawyer.
Another officer, who does not share in the determination, support the officers making the determination. He or she collates the information the Tribunal bases its decision on. It is preferred that this be a military lawyer.	Two officers, who do not share in the determination, support the officers making the determination. 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.... collates the information the Tribunal bases its decision on. The Recorders were military lawyers. 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:... meets with the captive: explains the Tribunal's procedures; explained that participation was voluntary goes over the unclassified allegations against the captive, which they would be learning, for the first time; tries to get the captive to share their account of the incidents recorded in the allegations. determines whether the captive wanted to attend, submit a written statement, or allow the Tribunal to convene without their participation; if the captive doesn't attend, or is disruptive, and is removed, it is the Personal Representative's responsibility to present the captive's version of events.

June 4 2007 dismissal of charges against Guantanamo captives

On June 4, 2007 Colonel Peter Brownback

Peter Brownback

Peter E. Brownback III is a retired military officer and lawyer.He was appointed to be a Presiding Officer on the Guantanamo military commissions, by retired general John D. Altenburg....

and Naval Captain Keith J. Allred

Keith J. Allred

-Early Life and Career:Allred entered the Navy in 1979. He received his juris doctorate in 1985 from the University of Washington. He served in the U.S...

dismissed all charges against Guantanamo captives Omar Khadr

Omar Khadr

Omar Ahmed Khadr is a Canadian child soldier and one of the juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He was convicted of five charges under the United States Military Commissions Act of 2009 including murder in violation of the law of war and providing material support for terrorism,...

and Salim Ahmed Hamdan

Salim Ahmed Hamdan

Salim Ahmed Hamdan is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver claiming he needed the $200 monthly salary that came with the job....

, on jurisdictional grounds.
They ruled that the Military Commissions Act of 2006

Military Commissions Act of 2006

The United States Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as HR-6166, was an Act of Congress signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. Drafted in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Hamdan v...

had only authorized the Guantanamo military commission

Guantanamo military commission

The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...

s to charge captives who were classified as "illegal enemy combatants", and since Khadr and Hamdan's Combatant Status Review Tribunals had only made the determination
that they were "enemy combatant

Enemy combatant

Enemy combatant is a term historically referring to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. Prior to 2008, the definition was: "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war." In the case of a civil war or an...

s", their military commissions lacked the jurisdiction to hear the charges.

The authority of AR 190-8 Tribunals

Structure of AR-190-8 Tribunals and Combatant Status Review Tribunals compared

June 4 2007 dismissal of charges against Guantanamo captives

See also