extraordinary rendition
Secret, extrajudicial US transfer of terrorism suspects for interrogation abroad
Extraordinary rendition is a practice within US intelligence and security policy denoting the secret, extrajudicial transfer of a person — typically a terrorism suspect — to another country or to a secret detention facility for the purpose of interrogation or internment. The term is not an officially established legal term in US law, but a label for a specific practice documented in connection with the CIA's secret interrogation and detention programmes, particularly after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
In practice, extraordinary rendition meant that suspects were detained and transported outside the ordinary legal procedures — without charge, court order or consular notification. The transfer often took place to other countries or to CIA-operated 'black sites', where detainees could be subjected to interrogation methods that would not have been permitted on US soil. The programme is documented to have led to the use of methods characterised by international bodies and many jurists as torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Examples include 'waterboarding', sleep deprivation and other forms of harsh treatment that were sanctioned through internal legal memoranda — the so-called 'torture memos' — issued by the US Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel.
The legal basis of the practice was, and remains, disputed. Critics argue that it violates both the US Constitution, the UN Convention against Torture and other obligations under international law by which the United States is bound. Supporters within the executive branch argued conversely that the president's war powers and national security provided authority for carrying out the programme.
Extraordinary rendition differs from ordinary extradition by the absence of any legal process: there is no formal request, no judicial review and no opportunity for the detainee to challenge the transfer. It is precisely this extrajudicial and secret element that has made the practice a central focal point in the debate on the limits of the rule of law during the 'war on terror'.
