Guantanamo military commission The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camp s . History . The American Bar Association reported in January 2002 : " In response to the unprecedented attacks of September 11 , on November 13 , 2001 , the President announced that certain non - citizens ( of the USA ) would be subject to detention and trial by military authorities . The [ executive ] order provides that non - citizens whom the President deems to be , or to have been , members of the al Qaeda organization or to have engaged in , aided or abetted , or conspired to commit acts of international terrorism that have caused , threaten to cause , or have as their aim to cause , injury to or adverse effects on the United States or its citizens , or to have knowingly harbored such individuals , are subject to detention by military authorities and trial before a military commission . " The United States Department of Defense ( DOD ) organized military tribunals to judge charges against enemy combatant detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp . In the early years , the camp authorities did not allow foreign detainees access to attorneys , or materials supporting their charges , and the executive branch declared them outside the reach of due process under " habeas corpus " . In " Rasul v . Bush " ( 2004 ) , the US Supreme Court ruled that they did have rights to habeas corpus and had to be provided access to legal counsel and an opportunity to challenge their detention before an impartial tribunal . On June 29 , 2006 , the Supreme Court had ruled in " Hamdan v . Rumsfeld " Docket 05 - 194 , with a 5 - 3 decision for the detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan . It effectively declared that trying Guantanamo Bay detainees under the existing Guantanamo military commission ( known also as Military Tribunal ) was illegal under US law , including the Geneva Convention s . According to the opinion ( Paragraph 4 , page 4 ) : " 4 . The military commission at issue lacks the power to proceed because its structure and procedures violate both the UCMJ ( Uniform Code of Military Justice ) and the four Geneva Conventions signed in 1949 . " The Supreme Court ruled that the president does not have the sole authority to create and operate tribunals and is required to get authorization to do so from the United States Congress , as part of the separation of powers in the US government . With the War Crimes Act in mind , this ruling presented the Bush administration with the risk of criminal liability for war crimes . To address these legal problems , the president requested and Congress passed the Military Commissions Act . On September 28 and September 29 , 2006 , the US Senate and US House of Representatives , respectively , passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 , and President Bush signed it on October 17 , 2006 . The bill was controversial for continuing to authorize the President to designate certain people as " unlawful enemy combatant s , " thus making them subject to military commissions , and depriving them of " habeas corpus " . In " Boumediene v . Bush " ( 2008 ) , the US Supreme Court ruled that foreign detainees held by the United States , including those at Guantanamo Bay detention camp , did have the right of " habeas corpus " under the US constitution , as the US had sole authority at the Guantanamo Bay base . It held that the 2006 Military Commissions Act was an unconstitutional suspension of that right . Comparisons to US and international systems . United States justice systems . The United States has two parallel justice systems , with laws , statutes , precedents , rules of evidence , and paths for appeal . Under these justice systems , prisoners have certain rights . They have a right to know the evidence against them ; they have a right to protect themselves against self - incrimination ; they have a right to legal counsel ; they have a right to have the witnesses against them cross - examined . The two parallel justice systems are the Judicial Branch of the US Government , and a slightly streamlined justice system named the UCMJ ( Uniform Code of Military Justice ) for people under military jurisdiction . People undergoing a military court martial are entitled to the same basic rights as those in the civilian justice system . The Guantanamo military trials under the 2006 MCA do not operate according to either system of justice . The differences include : International . Note that international human rights law prohibits trying non - military personnel in military tribunals . Adding to the fact that this " comparison " is misleading due to the fact that the United States has never ratified the International Criminal Court statute , and in fact it has withdrawn its original signature of accession when it feared repercussions of the Iraq war . Much like the military commissions , the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) trial procedures call for : Boycott of Military Commissions . In 2006 , after charges were laid against a number of detainees a boycott against the judicial hearings was declared by Ali al - Bahlul . The boycott gained momentum in 2008 when more detainees faced Guantanamo military commissions . Public confidence in the fairness of the trials reached all - time lows after the boycotts began . The commission members . Initially the identity of the commission members were to be kept hidden , and the commission was to consist of a Presiding Officer ( a lawyer ) , at least four other officers ( between eight and eleven in capital cases ) , and one alternate . The structure of the commission was radically revised in late 2004 . The impartiality of five of the officers was challenged , and two of the officers were removed . All five officers of the commission have an equal vote . Legal advisors . There have been three individuals who have held the position of legal advisor to the civilian in charge of the Office of Military Commissions : Brigadier General Thomas Hemingway , Brigadier General Thomas W . Hartmann and Mr . Michael Chapman . Security precautions . On January 2 , 2008 " Toronto Star " reporter Michelle Shephard offered an account of the security precautions reporters go through before they can attend the hearings : Suspension and possible revival . On January 22 , 2009 , new US President Barack Obama , who had said during his 2008 campaign that he would reject the Military Commissions Act if elected , issued an executive order instructing the Secretary of Defense to immediately take steps sufficient to ensure that no new charges are sworn , or referred to a military commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Rules for Military Commissions , and that all proceedings of such military commissions to which charges have been referred but in which no judgment has been rendered , and all proceedings pending in the United States Court of Military Commission Review , are halted . On January 29 , 2009 the order was overturned . Guantanamo military commission judge , Army Colonel James Pohl , ruled against the order in the case of Abd al - Rahim al - Nashiri . Abd al - Rahim al - Nashiri is one of three Guantanamo Bay inmates known to have been subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques . In May 2009 , " The New York Times " reported that the Obama administration is considering the tribunals as an alternative to trying detainees in the regular court system . Costs . According to " Hindustan Times " the electronic equipment that was installed in courtroom number 2 cost $ 4 million US $ .