Terror, reason and rights
Type
Publication
Authors
Category
Publication Year
2009
Publisher
University of Exeter, United Kingdom
Pages
29p
Subject
Human Right, Security, Terrorism, Law
Tags
Abstract
The history of emergency legislation is not a proud one. From the
appointment of dictators rei gerundae causa in the days of the Roman
Republic to the invocation of Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution
following the Reichstag Fire, measures seemingly meant to preserve
constitutional government have too often proved to be its undoing.
Good-faith attempts to deal with emergencies have not always fared
any better. In 1987, for example, Supreme Court Justice Brennan
remarked on the ‘shabby treatment’ of civil liberties in the US during
‘times of war and perceived threats to national security’, including
Lincoln’s attempt to suspend habeas corpus during the Civil War and
the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II:
appointment of dictators rei gerundae causa in the days of the Roman
Republic to the invocation of Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution
following the Reichstag Fire, measures seemingly meant to preserve
constitutional government have too often proved to be its undoing.
Good-faith attempts to deal with emergencies have not always fared
any better. In 1987, for example, Supreme Court Justice Brennan
remarked on the ‘shabby treatment’ of civil liberties in the US during
‘times of war and perceived threats to national security’, including
Lincoln’s attempt to suspend habeas corpus during the Civil War and
the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II:
Description
29 p.; 18 cm
Number of Copies
1