The document discusses the legal status of Mende captives and the relationship between international law and domestic law. It notes that international law alone does not confer rights that can be recognized in domestic courts, but only where rules of international law are incorporated into domestic law. It also discusses a legal case where it was found that while international law has validity only to the extent its principles are accepted in domestic law, courts will treat international law as incorporated in domestic law unless inconsistent with statutes or judicial precedent.