Summary

Description

The 2010 Digest provides a historical record of developments that took place during calendar year 2010, illustrating how the United States put our strategic vision of international law into practice. That concept rests on the principle that obeying international law promotes U.S. foreign policy interests and strengthens our international leadership. The United States' active participation in international tribunals and other international bodies formed an important part of our practice in 2010. Over the year, the United States continued to engage with the International Criminal Court while maintaining its active support for other international tribunals. The United States' active engagement with the Court and the parties to the Rome Statute has enabled us to help shape the direction of the Court to ensure that it fulfills its important mandate to bring to justice the perpetrators of mass atrocities. In the area of the law of armed conflict, the United States continued to place priority on ensuring that its detention operations, detainee prosecutions, and operations involving the use of force-including those in the armed conflict with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces-are consistent with all applicable law, including international law. In January 2010, an interagency task force established by President Obama completed a comprehensive review of the status of all of the individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay when President Obama assumed office and made consensus determinations about the disposition of each detainee's case consistent with national security, the interests of justice, and the U.S. longstanding policy not to transfer any individual to a country where it is more likely than not he would be tortured. In habeas litigation brought by Guantanamo detainees in U.S. federal court, the United States continued to assert the 2001 statutory Authorization for Use of Military Force ("AUMF").