On December 9th, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City will consider whether Bush Administration officials must answer for actions carried out against Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen. In September 2002, Mr. Arar was stopped by federal agents at JFK Airport, detained for days, and finally sent to Syria, where he was imprisoned in a grave-like cell for nearly a year and tortured. These officials argue that their conduct is not subject to review by the courts, largely because Mr. Arar's case implicates national security concerns.

The Administration has invoked national security to justify its decision to ship Mr. Arar to Syria and claims that national security concerns now preclude judicial review of that decision. This is hardly surprising, as the Bush Administration has frequently used "national security" to justify -- and avoid accountability for -- numerous illegal policies, such as warrantless surveillance of Americans, the denial of due process to detainees, and torture, including documented cases of waterboarding.

Mr. Arar's case represents much more than an isolated search for answers and justice by a single individual. His situation dramatically calls into question the Administration's longstanding and outrageous assertion that national security places it above the law and beyond the review of any other branch of government. Mr. Arar's case thus raises essential questions for all Americans regarding respect for the rule of law and the vitality of our Constitutional system.

In fulfilling their role in our system of checks and balances, the courts have, in the past, recognized and remedied violations of individual rights by government officials. Where cases may implicate national security concerns -- as the government claims here -- the courts have proven more than capable of safeguarding sensitive national security information from harmful public disclosure. We are confident that they can also do so in Mr. Arar's case.

Mr. Arar has found some measure of justice in Canada, where the government convened a commission, investigated his case, cleared him of any ties to terrorism, apologized for passing inaccurate information about him to the United States, and compensated him for his ordeal. In the United States, however, the government's failure to even acknowledge its error has become a national embarrassment. Here, Mr. Arar remains on a terrorist watchlist and still awaits official answers to his troubling allegations. The Second Circuit Court should bring his long wait to an end and recognize that Mr. Arar is entitled to his day in court, and that no one is above the law.

Editor's note: This piece was co-authored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight.