Why Not Torture Terrorists?: Moral, Practical and Legal Aspects of the "Ticking Bomb" Justification for Torture

by Yuval Ginbar

Overview

This book addresses a dilemma at the heart of the 'War on Terror': is it ever justifiable to torture terrorists in order to save the lives of others, the so-called 'ticking bomb' scenario?

The book opens with an analysis of the pure moral argument from the standpoint of the individual as torturer. It then looks at the issues that arise once a state has decided to sanction torture in certain situations: how to establish factually that the situation is urgent, deciding who to torture, training people to carry out torture, and the efficacy of torture as a means of gathering information. The final part examines attempts to operate legal systems which tolerate torture; how they relate to the criminal law notion of necessity and to international human rights norms.

After examining the utilitarian arguments for torture, and the impact on a society of permitting torture, the author presents a powerful argument for maintaining the absolute legal prohibition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199571239
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/19/2010
Series:	Oxford Monographs in International Law
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Yuval Ginbar serves as a legal adviser to Amnesty International and a senior adviser to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.

Table of Contents

Table of Cases xiii

Table of Treaties and Statutes xxi

List of Abbreviations and General Notes xxv

Introduction xxvii

I Private Morality: Is It Morally Justifiable for an Individual to Torture a Terrorist in order to Save Many Innocent Lives?

1 Part I-Introduction 3

2 The Wider Moral Issue: Do Consequences or 'No Go Areas' Determine What is Ethical in an Extreme Situation? 10

3 Consequentialist Argument for Torturing in a Ticking Bomb Situation 20

4 The Minimal Absolutist Approach I: Anti-absolutism as Morally Untenable 30

5 The Minimal Absolutist Approach II: Arguments for an Absolute Prohibition on Torture 64

6 Part I-Conclusions 89

II Public, Practical Morality: Is It Morally Justifiable for a State to Torture in order to Save Many Innocent Lives?

7 Part II-Introduction 95

8 Is there a 'Public Morality' that is Distinct from 'Private Morality'? 98

9 'Slippery Slope' and Other Dangers 111

10 Part II-Conclusions 157

III Legalizing Torture 1-Four Models

11 Part III-Introduction 167

12 The Landau Model in Israel 171

13 The 'Torture Warrants' Model 183

14 Israel's High Court of Justice Model 200

15 The USA's 'High Value Detainees' Model 223

16 Part III-Conclusions 262

IV Legalizing Torture 2-Three Issues

17 Part IV-Introduction 269

18 Is it (Internationally) Legal? Is it Torture? 270

19 The 'Defence of Necessity' as Legal Grounds for Torture 304

20 Part IV-Conclusions 339

V Conclusions

21 Conclusions 349

Summer 2007 to Summer 2009: Reflections on Recent Developments 357

Annex 'The Ticking Bomb' Scenario-a Few Examples 379

Bibliography 387

Index 421

Editorial Reviews

"One cannot imagine a contemporary International Law course that does not touch upon, if not devote a significant amount of time to, the issue raised in this book. The author's writing style is as vivid as the best (worst) scenes one could dream up, in this all-too-real fact of the contemporary War on Terror."
--ASIL UN21 Newsletter, Issue #42, September 2011

From the Publisher