Stephen Kenny (Australian lawyer)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Kenny is an Australia
n lawyer. He was Guantanamo detainee
David Hicks's original lawyer.
Stephen Kenny has practiced as a Barrister and Solicitor in Australia for over 25 years. He has always maintained a strong interest in civil libertarian matters and is the past Chairperson of the South Australian Council for Civil Liberties. Throughout his career, Stephen has acted for Indigenous people, including on personal and Native Title
Land Claim matters as well as undertaking pro-bono work for migrant families and community groups.
In the 1990s he acted for the Ngarrindjerri People during the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Affair. In January 2002 after reading press reports of the detention of David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay, Stephen offered his services to his Adelaide family. On instructions from the family, Stephen commenced legal proceedings in the United States for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
against President Bush and the US Military who were detaining David Hicks. That case became known as Rasul v. Bush
and resulted in the United States Supreme Court ruling that Guantanamo Bay was within the jurisdiction of the US Courts. This led to a number of other detainees taking action against their detention in US Federal Courts.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n lawyer. He was Guantanamo detainee
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
David Hicks's original lawyer.
Stephen Kenny has practiced as a Barrister and Solicitor in Australia for over 25 years. He has always maintained a strong interest in civil libertarian matters and is the past Chairperson of the South Australian Council for Civil Liberties. Throughout his career, Stephen has acted for Indigenous people, including on personal and Native Title
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
Land Claim matters as well as undertaking pro-bono work for migrant families and community groups.
In the 1990s he acted for the Ngarrindjerri People during the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Affair. In January 2002 after reading press reports of the detention of David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay, Stephen offered his services to his Adelaide family. On instructions from the family, Stephen commenced legal proceedings in the United States for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
against President Bush and the US Military who were detaining David Hicks. That case became known as Rasul v. Bush
Rasul v. Bush
Rasul v. Bush, 542 U.S. 466 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision establishing that the U.S. court system has the authority to decide whether foreign nationals held in Guantanamo Bay were wrongfully imprisoned...
and resulted in the United States Supreme Court ruling that Guantanamo Bay was within the jurisdiction of the US Courts. This led to a number of other detainees taking action against their detention in US Federal Courts.