Hamdan may enter a plea at the proceedings before the five-member military commission, and motions are expected to be heard -- including one from his attorney challenging Hamdan's status as an "enemy combatant."

The military commission will decide the fate of four out of nearly 600 Guantanamo prisoners so far charged with what the government calls war crimes. It is the first time since World War II that non-Americans are facing U.S. charges of violating the laws of war.

The decision to try detainees by a U.S. military commission on foreign soil has drawn harsh criticism.

"It's a resurrected, outdated system that doesn't provide the fundamental protections of procedure or independence or a judge or appeal," U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Michael Mori told CNN in an interview.

Technically, there is no judge, no independent finder of fact and the presiding officer on the commission also votes on the verdict.

Critics also question the credibility of some witnesses whose allegations came after intense interrogation.

Human rights groups are among those voicing opposition.

"The U.S. would not be happy if American personnel, if U.S. forces, for instance, were arrested in Iran or Syria and subjected to this kind of military commission," said Saman Zia-Zarifi of Human Rights Watch.

The Pentagon said the detainees being charged do not qualify for a court-martial because they're technically not prisoners of war and were not captured in fighting as part of a regular army.

The Pentagon also said the procedures

"I think over the course of time, I think people will see this is the proper venue for trying war crimes during an ongoing armed conflict," said Lt. Susan McGarvey, a spokeswoman for the military commission.

On the eve of its opening hearings, the military commission proposed seizing reporters' notes if sensitive evidence is uttered in court.

Later shelved, the proposal added to the controversy and anxiety surrounding those who are trying the Guantanamo detainees.

Uncertainty over exactly how the commission will work continues to dog defense attorneys.

"The fact that the process has already started, and they're still defining the rules as we go along is a fundamental flaw that prevents any possibility of a fair trial," said Lt. Cmdr. Philip Sundell, a Pentagon attorney appointed to defend the accused.

Few eligible for trial

The United States has determined that 15 of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay are eligible for trial before the military commission, and four have been charged so far.

Hamdan and three others accused of conspiring with al Qaeda or the Taliban to attack the United States have been in custody for more than two years at the Guantanamo Bay base.

Many observers will watch to see how these first trials take shape.

Three of the four defendants captured in Afghanistan in 2001 are charged with conspiracy to attack civilians and three also are alleged to be former bodyguards of bin Laden.

One defendant is accused of making an al Qaeda recruitment tape praising the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

Australian David Hicks is charged with attempted murder of coalition forces and aiding the enemy.

The other two suspects are Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan, according to The Associated Press.

If found guilty, the maximum penalty is life. However, acquittal does not mean automatic freedom.

U.S. officials have said prisoners deemed enemy combatants could be held indefinitely until the war on terror is over.

CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/24/gitmo.detainees/index.html