Protecting Fundamental Rights in the "War on Terror" — Perspectives from the United States and Europe

OSI's U.S. Justice Fund and Justice Initiative hosted a discussion, "Protecting Fundamental Rights in the 'War on Terror': Perspectives from the United States and Europe." Two leading experts—from France and the United States—examined the ways in which security and liberty have been, and should be, balanced in fighting terrorism.

Roger Errera is a former senior member of the Conseil d’Etat, France’s Supreme Court for administrative law, and of the Conseil Supérior de la Magistrature, the body that vets judicial appointments and acts as a disciplinary board for the judiciary. He also served as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee. Currently a professor at Central European University in Budapest, he is the author of numerous essays and articles on freedom of expression, civil liberties, refugee law, and judicial ethics. Recently, he testified before the UK House of Lords-House of Commons Joint Human Rights Committee on legal instruments used in the fight against terrorism.

Michael Ratner is president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit human rights organization at the forefront of defending civil liberties in the United States, post-9/11. He and CCR litigated a case on behalf of Guantanamo detainees that resulted in a major Supreme Court victory in June 2004. Earlier this year, he and CCR published Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush and filed suit against Bush and the National Security Agency for warrantless wiretapping. In 2005, he and CCR filed a criminal complaint in the courts of Germany against Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials seeking the initiation of criminal prosecutions against them for abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib. He has written extensively on the Patriot Act, military tribunals, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 world, including the books Against War with Iraq and Guantanamo: What the World Should Know.

Sandra Coliver, senior legal officer of the Open Society Justice Initiative, and Nancy Chang, program officer of the U.S. Justice Fund, introduced the event.