Accountability for human rights atrocities in international law : beyond the Nuremberg legacy
"More than a half century after the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, nations around the world are increasingly grappling with the need to hold individuals accountable for human rights atrocities. In this innovative book, now in its second edition, Steven R. Ratner and Jason S. Abrams offer a comprehensive study of the promises and limitations of individual accountability as a means of enforcing international human rights and humanitarian law. They provide a searching analysis of the principal crimes under the law of nations, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and go on to appraise the range of prosecutorial and other mechanisms for holding abusers responsible. The authors conclude with a series of compelling conclusions about the future of accountability. The second edition includes developments since 1997, including new domestic prosecutions and truth commissions, the work of the UN's Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals, and the International Criminal Court"--Unedited summary from book cover
xlvii, 435 pages ; 24 cm
9780198298717, 9780199248339, 0198298714, 0199248338
46619036
Individual accountability for human rights abuses: historical and legal underpinnings
Genocide and the imperfections of codification
Crimes against humanity and the inexactitude of custom
War crimes and the limitations of accountability for acts in armed conflict
Other abuses incurring individual responsibility under international law
Expanding and contracting culpability: related crimes, defenses, and other barriers to criminality
Mechanisms and accountability: framing the issues
The forum of first resort: national tribunals
The progeny of Nuremberg: international criminal tribunals
Non-prosecutorial options: investigatory commissions, civil suits, and immigration measures
Developing the case: comments on evidence and judicial assistance
The Khmer Rouge rule over Cambodia: a historical overview
Applying the law
Engaging the mechanisms
Striving for justice: the prospects for individual accountability
Appendices