Proving the Extraordinary – Issues of Evidence and Attribution in Cases of Extraordinary Rendition

This paper, written by an LLM student at the University of Amsterdam, is a revised version of his master thesis.

Abstract: A number of cases before the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Committee Against Torture, and the European Court of Human Rights have now confirmed that the practice of extraordinary rendition is in breach of international human rights law. The critical issues that remain following these cases are those of proving these extraordinary events, as a matter of fact of law. How can evidence be effectively adduced when the entire operation remains shrouded in secrecy? How can responsibility be effectively assigned amongst a network of sending, host and transit states? This paper will explore the issues of evidence and attribution that may arise in the process of litigating extraordinary rendition before these human rights tribunals.