Torture, Law, and War

Description

Torture, Law, and War: What are the moral and legal boundaries on the use of coercion in interrogation? a conference at The University of Chicago Law School February 29-March 1, 2008. Recent events combined with shifts in government policy have reopened questions about how much and what kinds of coercion are appropriately used in the interrogation and detention of suspected criminals, enemy combatants, and accomplices. For the sake of protecting security and pursuing justice, some have urged we reexamine the usefulness and broad prohibitions of torture. Yet some basic questions about torture and coercive interrogation in particular are also in need of answer: How should we define torture? What can we learn from history about it? What are its effects on the tortured, on those who torture, and on societies in which it occurs? What should the law say about it? In conjunction with the University of Chicago Law School's year-long Law and Philosophy Workshop focused on coercion, the Law School is hosting a conference to draw speakers from a variety of disciplines together to discuss these and related questions. Contributors include: Adam Samaha, Samuel Brody, Garrett Ordower, Susan Bandes, Richard McAdams, Martha Nussbaum, Geoffrey Stone, Robert Gooding-Williams, Scott Anderson, and Eric Posner