You may recall that December of last year marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and so far into 2008, we have seen some steps forward as well as some steps back in terms of major events in international law. On the positive side, we are seeing dramatic advancement in the prosecution of some of the world’s most long standing human rights abusers, involving former heads of state everywhere from Latin America to Southeast Asia. Khmer Rouge leaders, for example, are finally being brought to trial in Cambodia (stemming from the establishment of a joint Cambodia-UN tribunal in 2006 to try former officials for crimes committed during the regime), albeit despite the fact that Ieng Sary, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister, is now frail, in his eighties, and struggling to get through days in court. The most stupendous development for human rights that has emerged this year is the US Supreme Court’s ruling last month to reinstate habeas corpus for prisoners at Guántanamo Bay. The ruling means that prisoners will now be able to challenge their detentions in US courts, whereas previously they could be locked up indefinitely without trial. Although we eagerly welcome this ruling, it is a shockingly overdue attempt to rectify what has long been a gross abuse of the most basic human rights.