Where is international law?

I am sure I join many others who are still working their ways through the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision. At this stage I would like to make a brief observation about two issues addressed by the Court in this case. While references are made by members of the Court to international law, particularly the Geneva Conventions of 1949, little is said about the present day international criminal tribunals. I believe one reference is made in the context of the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) regarding “conspiracy.” While the Court took strong views about international law in Roper v. Simmons and Texas v. Lawrence, it was less bold in relying on international law, especially international criminal law, in the Hamdan case. I was surprised that the majority/plurality in particular did not make any reference to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. While that Statute’s provisions still remain largely unexplored in actual case applications, we need to be mindful about the fact that the Rome Statute addresses “conspiracy-type” collaboration in discussing individual criminal responsibility in Article 25. Moreover, there are provisions within the Statute itself along with the accompanying Rules of Procedure and Evidence which just might allow in camera ex parte proceedings from which the defendant/accused is excluded. Again, it will take some time to clarify the meaning of these provisions of the Rome Statute and its Rules through case application and the development of the ICC’s jurisprudence. However, it would be premature at this time to say that the Military Commissions criticized by the Court in Hamdan are unlike the proceedings that could take place under the ICC. Perhaps Justice Scalia was on to something in his dissenting opinion in Roper when he criticized his colleagues for selective reliance on international law in Constitutional adjudication.     RJA sj