Military Tribunals and the Court
Overview of Case Law Before Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, et al.
Through the express grants of authority in Article I of the Constitution, Congress is empowered to create and define military courts, both courts-martial and military tribunals. William Winthrop, the premier nineteenth century authority on military law, wrote: In general, it is those provisions of the Constitution which empower Congress to "declare war" and "raise armies," and which, in authorizing the initiation of war, authorize the employment of all necessary and proper agencies for its due prosecution, from which this tribunal [the military commission] derives its original sanction. — Military Law and Precedents.Over the years, statutory actions that adopted and modified…
