Description
Book SynopsisPunishing Atrocities through a Fair Trial explores why, since the Nuremberg Trials, international courts have struggled to hold perpetrators accountable for mass atrocities while still protecting the fair trial rights of defendants, and argues why international criminal law must adhere to transparent principles of legality and due process.
Trade Review'Jonathan Hafetz has produced a deeply impressive analysis of the likely irreducible tension between fairness and accountability that characterizes trials for international crimes. At once historical, theoretical, critical - and above all deeply learned - the book should prove to be standard reading for years to come.' Kevin Jon Heller, University of Amsterdam
'This text offers a lucid evaluation of the system of international criminal justice today - from its philosophical underpinnings to its enduring challenges - in an accessible and engaging way. Hafetz tackles some of the core debates in the field with expertise, including the problem of selectivity in prosecutions, techniques for translating collective criminality into individual criminal responsibility, finding the appropriate balance between the drive for accountability for the worst crimes known to humankind and the imperative of procedural fairness, and the challenge of integrating terrorism into the international criminal law canon. This book will be essential reading for the young scholar or practitioner interested in understanding the field as well as the seasoned adherent.' Beth Van Schaack, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), Stanford University, California
'… I would suggest it as essential reading for judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and any judicial staff … Punishing Atrocities is a useful, practical, rewarding read that informs as much as it provokes.' Michael G. Karnavas, International Criminal Law Blog (www.michaelgkarnavas.net/blog)
Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Creating the template: Nuremberg and the post-World War II international prosecutions; 2. International criminal law's revival and the challenges of implementation; 3. The creation of a permanent international criminal court; 4. Procedure and fairness in a decentralized system; 5. The selectivity challenge in international criminal law; 6. Achieving accountability and fairness: a window into the recurring debate over treating terrorism as an international crime; Concluding remarks.
