Editors' Introduction (Retrials: The New Histories of International Criminal Law) (original) (raw)
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Harvard International Law Journal, 2001
Reviewed by Nancy Amoury Combs* I. INTRODUCTION After decades in which international criminal law seemed a forgotten field, two ad hoc international tribunals are now prosecuting those accused of committing international crimes in the former Yugoslavia 1 and Rwanda, 2 and each ratification of the Rome Stature' brings closer the creation of a permanent international criminal court. After a century in which approximately 250 conflicts around the world led to an estimated 70 to 170 million deaths, through genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes with virtually none of the perpetrators brought to justice, 4 the development of international criminal law comes none too soon. Fortunately, following on
2007
This work is an introductory chapter for a forthcoming book on Understanding International Criminal Law to be published by Aspen Publishers as part of Aspen's Essentials series. This chapter presents a succinct history of international criminal law (ICL), drawing upon major developments in the law of armed conflict, international human rights law, and the criminal prohibitions against piracy and the slave trade. The chapter interweaves the history of substantive norms with that of evolving principles of domestic and international jurisdiction, as these narratives are virtually inseparable in ICL. Additional chapters in the text will address the sources of ICL, the major international crimes and defenses, and ICL reasoning and rhetoric. Publication is expected in 2007 for adoption in 2008.
Criminal Law Forum, 2016
Along with the advent and rapid development of international criminal law, especially starting with the last decade of the 20th century, questions relating to the proper conduct of proceedings, its main principles, advantages and pitfalls in the process have inevitably come afore. Almost non-existent slightly more than two decades ago, international criminal procedure has undergone a huge growth as a result of the swift proliferation of international and hybrid criminal courts during the post-Cold War era. The fast institution-building in the sphere of adjudicating the core crimes at the international level has necessitated the development of a sufficiently sophisticated criminal procedure. It should be noted that this happened in an incomprehensive, rather individualized and spontaneous manner which could only lead to a fragmentation and diversification among various courts operating in this area. The question is undoubtedly topical. And the process still leaves several major gaps along the way. One of those gaps consists in the lack or absence of clarification on the exact position of the defendant and the extent to which he/she is able to partake in the proceedings. A big part of the reviewed book authored by Mr. Elberling has as its main purpose the filling-in of that gap.
Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals - volume 41
This forty-first volume of annotated leading case law of international criminal tribunals contains decisions taken by the ICC in the year 2009. It provides the reader with the full text of the most important decisions, identical to the original version and including concurring, separate and dissenting opinions. Distinguished experts in the field of international criminal law have commented the decisions. An index is included. Contributors: Steven Becker, Menno Dolman, Cristina Fernandez-Pacheco Estrada, Håkan Friman, Lea Kulinowski, Sally Longworth, Alexandra Popov, Heather Stevenson, Marianna Tonellato and Adam Wolrich.
Doing Justice to History: Confronting the Past in International Criminal Courts, 2021
As communities struggle to make sense of mass atrocities, expectations have increasingly been placed on international criminal courts to render authoritative historical accounts of episodes of mass violence. Taking these expectations as its point of departure, this book seeks to understand international criminal courts through the prism of their historical function. The book critically examines how such courts confront the past by constructing historical narratives concerning both the culpability of the accused on trial and the broader mass atrocity contexts in which they are alleged to have participated. The book argues that international criminal courts are host to struggles for historical justice, discursive contests between different actors vying for judicial acknowledgement of their interpretations of the past. By examining these struggles within different institutional settings, the book uncovers the legitimating qualities of international criminal judgments. In particular, it illuminates what tends to be foregrounded and included within, as well as marginalised and excluded from, the narratives of international criminal courts in practice. What emerges from this account is a sense of the significance of thinking about the emancipatory limits and possibilities of international criminal courts in terms of the historical narratives that are constructed and contested within and beyond the courtroom.
Ralph Henham: Punishment and Process in International Criminal Trials
Asian Journal of Criminology, 2007
Ralph Henham's book makes a socio-legal and philosophical inquiry into the theory and practice of international sentencing, with a view to identifying factors that affect discretionary decision-making in international criminal trials. It employs a comparative contextual analysis of the international criminal trial process in order to understand 'how and why particular sentencing outcomes are produced' (p 11). The fact that the practice of the ad hoc tribunals and the foundational instrument of the International Criminal Court (ICC) lack clearly defined penal justifications makes the arguments advanced in Henham's book both helpful and timely for future attempts at defining such justifications. According to Henham, in the practice of ad hoc tribunals, retribution in large part characterizes international sentencing, claims of deterrence remain largely rhetorical, and rehabilitation is regarded as a secondary objective in sentencing. To that end, Henham stresses the need for the ICC to balance retributive and reconciliatory demands in its future work through the development of appropriate sentencing norms based on articulated purposes (pp 23-24). This book is divided into eight chapters, and concludes with suggestions on how the debates over punishment and penal philosophy, consistency and discretion, crime control and due process and access to justice in international sentencing may be resolved. It does a very good job of deconstructing some of the rhetoric associated with international sentencing. It reveals that sentencing by ad hoc tribunals is guided by retributive goals despite the explicit acknowledgement of the need for restorative ideals for the promotion of peace and reconciliation in post-conflict societies. The book advances the argument that discretionary sentencing, which already characterizes the work of ad hoc international criminal tribunals, could be used to promote such agendas. Thus, in the end, the sentence ought to be 'socially responsive, morally sensitive and culturally relevant' (p 209). Specifically, there is a need in the future for provision of: (1) a statement of principles or purposes for sentencing; (2) mechanisms that provide guidance and ensure consistency through the development of a principled sentencing jurisprudence; (3) additional safeguards against bureaucratic and managerial agendas that compromise due process; (4) the development of due process norms that adequately address victim's concerns; (5) the de