America's proposed use of military tribunals to try...

America's proposed use of military tribunals to try accused terrorists goes against the current trend of international law, which has moved exclusively towards civilian courts, according to the Daily Telegraph.
If it had chosen, Washington could have used civilian judges to try the alleged terrorists - even sitting abroad without a jury as in the Lockerbie bombing trial at Camp Zeist, Holland.
Even more acceptable to legal opinion would be an international tribunal, such as the three judges at The Hague who will try Slobodan Milosevic for genocide.
It may be hard to persuade observers that military personnel have the necessary objectivity to rule on cases where the accused's life may be at stake. This is particularly so when many normal safeguards will not be available to the defence.
The military order signed by President Bush allows al-Qa'eda members to be tried by military commission "at any time and at any place". They can be convicted and sentenced to death or life imprisonment by a two-thirds majority of the commission members. There will be no jury.
The normal rules of evidence will be suspended. Intelligence and other classified material need not be disclosed.