Two Pieces of Good News

US Guantanamo tribunals 'illegal'

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Bush administration does not have the authority to try terrorism suspects by military tribunal.

In a landmark decision, justices upheld the challenge by Osama Bin Laden's ex-driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, against his trial at Guantanamo Bay.

The court's ruling that the proceedings violated Geneva Conventions is seen as a major blow to the administration.

But the ruling does not mean the closure of the Guantanamo Bay camp.

Judges spark 'constitutional crisis'

Judges have sparked a "constitutional crisis" by their decision to quash the government's control orders, the chair of the home affairs select committee claimed today.

A key plank of the government's anti-terror legislation is now in legal limbo after a high court judge ruled yesterday that orders confining suspects to their home and curtailing who they can meet breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

Today John Denham, a former minister and highly respected backbencher, put the blame firmly at the door of the judges and demanded urgent talks between politicians and the judiciary to resolve the situation before it escalated any further.

Good days like these are so very rare these days, make the most of it.