Appeals Court Limits Scope of Military Tribunals

In a 2-1 opinion, judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated the military commission’s conviction on conspiracy charges, because conspiracy is a domestic crime and not one recognized under the international law of war.

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If left undisturbed, the ruling "will categorically foreclose any military commission trial not based upon an established international war crime," American University law professor Stephen Vladeck argued in a blog post. The plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks may be the only ones who find themselves subjected to the military tribunals, he speculated.