Civil Liability of Bush, Cheney, Et Al, for Torture, Cruel, Inhumane, and Degrading Treatment and Forced Disappearance

Abstract

This article addresses treaty-based and customary international laws that provide the right to compensation regarding forced disappearance, human rights violations, and violations of the laws of war authorized and abetted by Bush, Cheney, and others from 2001-2008. The Geneva Conventions expressly recognize private rights and contemplate compensation in courts of law. Federal statutes execute the Geneva Conventions and other international laws for civil sanction purposes, and several U.S. cases have recognized personal liability for violations of human rights law and the laws of war. Also identified are various reasons why no federal statute should be interpreted contrary to international law to obviate civil liability and, under the last in time rule, some seemingly limiting statutes regarding substitution of the United States for individual defendants are prior in time to relevant treaties and must not prevail.