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Extraordinary rendition, counter-terrorism, and international law

Research Output: Book/Report Edited book Peer-review

Open access

Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Abstract

The years immediately following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 saw the emergence of a novel variation in the way in which governments and state officials may infringe human rights in the name of – real or purported – security considerations, namely the extraordinary rendition programme carried out by the United States with the assistance of a number of its allies in the ‘War on Terror’. Although instances of irregular transfer, detention and interrogation of terrorist suspects are not new, extraordinary rendition, on the scale and through the modes by which it occurred after 9/11, has posed unprecedented challenges to human rights lawyers, international monitoring bodies, domestic courts and other oversight bodies in their attempts to ensure accountability. The present chapter provides an overview of the extent and the modalities of the US extraordinary rendition programme, and discusses its legal implications from the perspective of international human rights law. It then examines the numerous – and so far generally unsuccessful – attempts of victims of extraordinary rendition to obtain redress before national criminal and civil courts and the – comparatively more successful – litigation before international human rights monitoring bodies.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Book/Report Edited book Peer-review

Original language

English

Publication milestones

  • Published - 01/01/2014

Publication status

Published - 01/01/2014

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., United Kingdom

ISBN (Print)

9223372036854775807

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/578866

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