An independent report by the Law Council of Australia has labeled the trial and detention of David Hicks on terrorism charges as "farcical." The report goes further and unleashes a scathing criticism of the Bush administration's military commissions system and further slams the Australian government for supporting this policy.

An attorney, Barrister Lex Lasry, QC, attending the trial of David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay in March further reports that during the trial the accused was referred to in open dialogue as "the enemy."  Clearly, this raises serious concerns about a system that claims to respect and champion the rule of law, while designating a defendant in this manner before a guilty verdict has been passed.

The following extract gives an indication about how military commissions work:

"Mr Lasry said he also witnessed a lack of transparency during the Guantanamo proceedings, whereby legal questions were often dealt with by way of "private conferences between the Judge and the parties".

"His [Mr Lasry's] report also places the blame for the delay in charging and trying Hicks at the feet of the US Government. While the military commission's chief prosecutor Moe Davis blamed delays on defence lawyers' legal challenges, Mr Lasry blamed the Bush Administration's "desire to maintain complete control over the fate of the detainees at Guantanamo".

By Tom Moran