[JURIST] The US detention center in Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] is a legal black hole, an Australian High Court [official website] judge has said. Justice Michael Kirby [official profile] made the statement Monday in a speech to the Sydney Peace Foundation [advocacy website]. David Hicks [JURIST news archive], an Australian who is awaiting trial before a US military commission on charges of aiding al Qaeda and the Taliban, has been detained at Guantanamo for more than four years. "That couldn't happen under our Constitution," Kirby said. Australia's ABC News has more.

Kirby also said international human rights law should play a larger role in Australian jurisprudence because of the globalization of commerce and culture. Australia's constitution [text] contains neither a bill of rights nor a provision recognizing international law. ABC has additional coverage.