International Law Still Allows Us To

Juan Cole 01/13/2004

International Law still Allows the US to hand Saddam over to Iraqis for trial

Ma`d Fayyad of ash-Sharq al-Awsat filed a story on Tuesday in which he quoted several experts in international law to the effect that the US military’s declaration that Saddam is a POW would not prevent him from being turned over for trial to the Interim Governing Council. INternational law is “soft,” having to mechanisms of enforcement, and it seems to me that Rumsfeld will turn Saddam over to the IGC, Geneva Accords or no Geneva Accords.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page