Damn, nothing escapes you guys. =oD
Ya, I should haven qualified the term *you*
Fair 'nough
Just because it's been done before doesn't mean that it's fair or moral.
And just because tribunals have been misused does not mean they are inheritly immoral or biased.
If being able to detain a prisoner secretly and being able to sentence him to death with just 2/3 votes without any process of appeal, I'd hate to see inhumane treatement.
The lack of appeal does disturb me, it provides little chance for error correction. There is a sort of appeals process, however, in that the decision can be reviewed by the Secretary of Defense. Still not optimal, though.
Isn't gunna do them much good; all you need is hearsay as long as it has "probative value to a reasonable person" in order to convict the person, and you don't have to reveal any evidence.
I disagree with this statement. I suspect the standards would be similar to what exist in traditional courts. The standards state only "Evidence that would have probative value to a reasonable person"; you adde dyour own interpretation to that to include heresay.
I do not know if it would include heresay or not, and you haven't shwon that it does, so this supports neither side of the argument until further information is gathered. Considering attorneys are posted for each side (the defendent can select their own or hire their own, as well), I would suspect it follows traditional court rules.
I think my deffinition of "fair" is different than the military's.
Then it becomes a difference of opinion.
The tribunal system is very similar to the military justice system that has been in place for the U.S. Military for years. That system is, within reasonable expectation, fair. There is the difference that the military justice system provides avenue for appeal (although limited), however.
So, while I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing, it's not immediate evidence of evil, either. Most people tend to mentally flip when they hear the word "tribunal", because of the negative connotations of the word, but a tribunal is just a specific type of judging body. How it's actually implemented is the measure of whether or not it is "fair".