E-Library ‘71 – recent additions – (July 2010, week 1)
Librarians’ Note: This E-Library is maintained by the War Crimes Strategy Forum (WCSF), a strategic coalition of activists and organisations sharing the common goal of assisting the prosecution of war criminals of Bangladesh 1971. Only the members registered to E-Library site will enjoy FULL-TEXT download-access to the entries. It is advised that you open your free-account today by clicking the Registration link. To be able to download full-text of the items stored on this library, or to add new items, you will need additional user-rights which can be requested from the Library-Admin at the Feedback-Address. You are also welcome to suggest new records to the library database. We hope the resources made available on this site will facilitate serious research of high standard on issues relating to the Liberation War of Bangladesh and the prosecution of war criminals.
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Meron, Theodor. “From Nuremberg to the Hague.” Military Law Review. 149 (1995): 107-112.
Abstract: The author challenges the commonly used reference to Nuremberg as “victors’ court” as that would imply an arbitrary tribunal. He argues, despite certain shortcomings of due process rules, Nuremberg was neither arbitrary nor unjust. Victors sitting in judgement at Nuremberg did not necessarily corrupt the essential fairness in proceedings.
Abstract: The human, political and economic catastrophe Cambodia witnessed during the Khmer Rouge years continues to haunt the country. Even as the trial of the former leaders of Khmer Rouge awaits royal assent, the controversy over bringing the criminals to book remains mired in political wrangles, legal concerns, divisions among the survivors and new interventions by the UN and foreign governments. The saga of the trials also exposes the value, perversions and uncertainties that accompany retrospective justice for mass murder.
Abstract: The International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction over all international crimes and it is understood that definitions or lists of crimes that are within the jurisdiction of the ICC are not meant to be exclusive or to limit in any way the customary definitions of crimes against humanity and war crimes or the reach more generally of customary international law. Parts II and III of this article provide significant detail with respect to differences between crimes against humanity and war crimes covered under the Statute of the ICC and those covered under the broader reach of customary international law. These differences are important for several reasons. For example, if future efforts are made to create a general or regional multilateral treaty proscribing crimes against humanity, the significant limits with respect to crimes against humanity set forth in Article 7 of the Statute of the ICC should not simply be copied. The same point pertains with respect to national legislation that attempts to cover all crimes against humanity and/or all war crimes under dynamic customary international law.
Abstract: This article discusses about the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yogoslavia (ICTY), the role of United Nations regarding war crime.
Abstract: There are many policy issues that need to be considered when a country and its people start to deal with horrors that are 39 years old. The trial process is a critical part of that, but it is not the only issue to deal with. It is essential for Bangladesh to develop a comprehensive, coherent and principled strategy for dealing with its past. It has not done that yet. The country is at a critical juncture, and it falls on the government to seize the opportunity to make the most of a process of accountability. Any trial process, especially of such a charged matter as the crimes of the liberation war, must meet international standards in order to have any legitimacy, honour the victims and provide some kind of redress to survivors. But that is not enough. After 38 years, the damage to the fabric of society is immense, and a properly conducted trial process opens a window of opportunity to repair some of the harm. The government must respond appropriately. The purpose of this paper is not to address the important wider issues of how Bangladesh should deal with the legacies of its past, rather to focus on the key legal issues arising out of the Awami League government’s avowed determination to investigate, prosecute and punish alleged criminals under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 As Amended.
Abstract: The conflict between the right of an accused to a public trial and the exceptional pressures on victim witnesses of war crimes in omnipresent in ICTY trials. Recently ICTY has begun to favor witness protection. These overly liberal grants of witness protection measures, including heavy reliance on affidavits over live testimony, closed sessions, face and voice distortion, and even pseudonyms, threaten the goals of the tribunal- to provide accurate historical records of terrible events and fair treatment accused war criminals.
Abstract: It is commonly accepted that war crime trials should provide a space for victims to tell their stories. However, ICTY trials suggests that war crime trials effectively silence, rather than hear the victims. The authors argue that incongruously optimistic judicial remarks unnecessarily denied their suffering. This article seeks to identify both the demands that the legal process imposes on victim-witnesses and the tensions that arises out of their participation in it. In the light of the fact that legal proceedings cannot produce the definitive collective memory of the events with which they deal, the article stresses the need to foster a variety of collective memories outside the judicial platform.
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