Anyone who argues that an individual enters into society with certain basic rights adopts a natural law perspective. Natural law exists independently of positive law, or human-made law, and asserts that all people have certain rights that no government can deny. The natural law is therefore ‘unwritten’. It is not a codified system of rights or regulations imposed by a legislator, such as a Bill of Rights. Practical reason is viewed as a means of inquiry to guide human affairs and the basic standard by which human beings discern moral obligation and legal authority.
The relationship between law and morality remains a complex and thorny topic. Today, natural law is implicated in increasingly controversial issues such as nuclear deterrence, the legitimacy of customary international law and the treatment of prisoners. Many commentators also continue to talk about September 11 as the day the world changed. A rehabilitation of natural law theory can contribute to debate on managing this new age of asymmetrical war and associated contemporary moral and political problems. Natural Law theory can also help renew judgements about the foundations of a just, equitable world order. It may be argued that the rehabilitation of natural law is not only a genuine option but also an urgent requirement in these times of widespread conflict, fear and anxiety. Respect for long-held values of human dignity, democratic standards and the rule of law are central to the pursuit of security.
In the wake of the atrocities of September 11, a number of individuals suspected of involvement with terrorist organisations or associated activities were apprehended. After he was captured by Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan in December 2001, terror suspect David Hicks was handed over to the US military and transferred to a prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Hicks has been charged with various offences, including conspiracy to commit war crimes and aiding the enemy. For much of his detention, Hicks has been held in a concrete solitary confinement cell waiting for trial by a military commission. The Bush administration decreed that al-Qaeda and Taliban members would not be accorded prisoner-of-war status. Indeed, none of the usual protections of the rules of evidence would apply, nor would suspects have the right to examine the evidence against them. Australian Prime Minster John Howard has steadfastly defended the US position by claiming that the Australian Government intends to ‘do whatever is necessary’ to ensure