Military Tribunals

What the heck are these review tribunals? According to the New York Times they constitute "panels of military officers who review the initial determination that an individual detainee has been properly labeled an enemy combatant." Opponents to this system say the tribunals limit access to evidence and witnesses and forbid defense lawyers from participating in hearings. Waxman, a lawyer for six Algerian detainees, asserts the current procedure fails to offer "even the most elemental aspects of an independent adversarial proceeding."

So here are my questions: 1. Are there any checks on these tribunals outside of the military? What about outside the executive branch 2. Are there any alternatives to using the federal court system as a checking device on these tribunals? 3. Who made up these tribunal rules? Is this common protocol? How often do these review tribunals actual acquit people? 4. Has the military not used tribunals before the War on Terror?