Unimaginable atrocities : justice, politics, and rights at the war crimes tribunals

241 Pages·2014·1.716 MB·English

by  Schabas, William A

Unimaginable Atrocities
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UNIMAGINABLE
ATROCITIES
Justice, Politics, and Rights at the
War Crimes Tribunals
William Schabas OC MRIA
1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
United Kingdom
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© William A. Schabas, 2012
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First Edition published 2012
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ISBN 978–0–19–965307–2
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To Ben Ferencz, who was there
when it all began
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CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. ‘Unimaginable Atrocities’:
Identifying International Crimes 25
2. Nullum Crimen Sine Lege 47
3. Victors’ Justice? Selecting Targets for Prosecution 73
4. The Genocide Mystique 99
5. Mens Rea, Actus Reus, and the Role of the State 125
6. History, International Justice, and the Right to Truth 153
7. No Peace Without Justice? The Amnesty Quandary 173
8. Crimes Against Peace 199
Index 223
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INTRODUCTION
‘I had a great evening; it was like the Nuremberg Trials.’
Mickey (Woody Allen), after a rather grim date with Hannah’s sister
Holly in the fi lm Hannah and Her Sisters
Human history is marked by ‘turning points’, associated with the emergence
of new technologies, new forms of government, and new concepts. They are
signposts of the progress of humanity. Centuries from now, the Nuremberg
trial will be seen as one such defi ning moment, if it is not already. In the
Middle Ages, the Bavarian city of Nuremberg was the unoffi cial capital of
the Holy Roman Empire. Hitler chose it as the site for his hysterical ral-
lies. He built an enormous parade ground there that still exists. It is now
a monument to Nazi atrocity. Above all, the town today evokes notions of
justice. This was where the International Military Tribunal, established by
the Allies in the weeks following the unconditional surrender of Germany
in 1945, put the surviving leaders of the Nazi regime on trial. It is enough
to say ‘Nuremberg’ for the idea to be understood.
Nuremberg stands for several big and infl uential concepts. Speaking
to the American Bar Association in 1946, British Prosecutor Hartley
Shawcross proposed three of them: to initiate a war of aggression is an
international crime; individuals who lead their countries into such a war
are personally responsible; individuals therefore have international duties
which transcend the national duty of obedience imposed by particular
states when to obey would constitute a crime against the law of nations.
To this list, one other, drawn from the human rights movement that was
also emerging at the time, might be added: atrocities committed by a gov-
ernment against its own people are punishable as an international crime.
Nuremberg also contains the suggestion that international responsibility
is imposed upon states to ensure that perpetrators of international crimes
are brought to justice.