A paralegal institution: tribunals and the place of law in the framework of internment during the Second World War

This article examines the emergence of tribunals as a system for legalising the internment of ‘enemy aliens’ in Britain and the United States during the Second World War. Reconstructing how these emergent quasi-judicial structures classified and reclassified civilians, it uncovers the moral uncertainties, legal frameworks, and bureaucratic dynamics that shaped the internment practices of democratic states. The history of these tribunals also sheds light on the long-term attitudes towards immigration and foreign influence in Anglophone societies. Debates on belonging, citizenship, and civil liberties within democratic societies often spanned a longer time period, reaching from the anti-immigration legislation of the 1900s to the globalisation of internment in the First World War, before culminating in the emergency measures of the Second World War. The article uses a multidirectional approach at the intersection of legal studies, biography, social and institutional history. By synthesising historical records, juristic analyses, and personal narratives, it elucidates how the tribunal systems navigated the complexities of intelligence assessments and public opinion dynamics. Furthermore, the comparison between British and American tribunal systems unveils both convergences and divergences in legal approaches and administrative practices. Considered within broader historical contexts, the tribunal system sheds light on the way legal frameworks both shaped and were shaped by wartime exigencies.