US appeals court to decide fate of Guantanamo lawsuits

A newly enacted federal law that could void hundreds of pending lawsuits filed by detainees held at the US military’s Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba is at the centre of a case before a US appeals court.

US government lawyers contend the Detainee Treatment Act, signed by President George Bush on December 30, wipes out more than 200 lawsuits filed on behalf of more than 300 detainees who are challenging the legality of their detentions.

But lawyers for the detainees argue that the law does not require dismissal of the lawsuits and want a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to find it unconstitutional.

The Detainee Treatment Act bars detainees from filing habeas corpus petitions used to fight unlawful detentions, although it allows them to appeal against the rulings of military tribunals to the federal courts.

Lawyers for the detainees say the new law does not cover pending cases. The Bush administration insist that it does.

The three-judge panel hears arguments today, with a ruling expected at a later date.