This piece has been previously published in The Lawyer (1 Dec 2003), both authors are from Brick Court Chambers, Maya having completed her CPE at City in 1999. The piece concerns the holding of prisoners by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay and the somewhat inconsequential impact of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on their conduct. The situation is looked at comparatively with the UK and whether the European Convention on Human Rights holds us to account on human rights issues more effectively.