European War Crimes Trials: a Bibliography

B. K.

doi:10.2307/2607436

JAK LUDOBÓJSTWO ZOSTAŁO UZNANE ZA ZBRODNIĘ – DZIEDZICTWO RAFAŁA LEMKINA

Civitas et Lex ◽

10.31648/cetl.2306 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 69-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sam MCFARLAND ◽

Katarzyna HAMER

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

War Crimes ◽

Genocide Convention ◽

Entire Life ◽

War Crimes Trials ◽

Criminal Charge ◽

Short Biography ◽

The World ◽

Real Change ◽

History Of

Raphael Lemkin is hardly known to a Polish audiences. One of the most honored Poles of theXX century, forever revered in the history of human rights, nominated six times for the Nobel PeacePrize, Lemkin sacrificed his entire life to make a real change in the world: the creation of the term“genocide” and making it a crime under international law. How long was his struggle to establishwhat we now take as obvious, what we now take for granted?This paper offers his short biography, showing his long road from realizing that the killing oneperson was considered a murder but that under international law in 1930s the killing a million wasnot. Through coining the term “genocide” in 1944, he helped make genocide a criminal charge atthe Nuremburg war crimes trials of Nazi leaders in late 1945, although there the crime of genocidedid not cover killing whole tribes when committed on inhabitants of the same country nor when notduring war. He next lobbied the new United Nations to adopt a resolution that genocide is a crimeunder international law, which it adopted on 11 December, 1946. Although not a U.N. delegate – hewas “Totally Unofficial,” the title of his autobiography – Lemkin then led the U.N. in creating theConvention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted 9 December, 1948.Until his death in 1958, Lemkin lobbied tirelessly to get other U.N. states to ratify the Convention.His legacy is that, as of 2015, 147 U.N. states have done so, 46 still on hold. His tomb inscriptionreads simply, “Dr. Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959), Father of the Genocide Convention”. Without himthe world as we know it, would not be possible.

Download Full-text

The First Wave of International War Crimes Trials: Istanbul and Leipzig

European Review ◽

10.1017/s1062798706000470 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 441-455 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

ALAN KRAMER

Keyword(s):

War Crimes ◽

Second World War ◽

Crimes Against Humanity ◽

World War ◽

The First World War ◽

War Crimes Trials ◽

International War ◽

Second World ◽

First World ◽

Foundation Stone

The Nuremberg tribunal following the Second World War is universally considered as the foundation stone of international law with regard to war crimes and crimes against humanity. It may come as a surprise, however, to learn that the first international attempts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity came at the end of the First World War, with trials held at Allied prompting in Turkey and Germany.

Download Full-text

The Law of International Criminal Procedure and Domestic War Crimes Trials

International Criminal Law Review ◽

10.1163/157181206778992250 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 605-635 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Göran Sluiter

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Procedure ◽

War Crimes ◽

Specific Context ◽

National Courts ◽

International Criminal Tribunals ◽

War Crimes Trials ◽

The Law ◽

Do So

AbstractThis article deals with the question of possible effect of the law of international criminal procedure for domestic war crimes trials. With the increasing number of national prosecutions for war crimes this question will gain in relevance.The article starts with an exploration of the origin and development of the law of international criminal procedure, to reach the conclusion that because of the lack of a strong foundation it is difficult to discern firmly established rules in this field. Next, two areas are examined where the law of international criminal procedure is capable of producing effect for national trials: human rights and rules that have developed in the specific context of war crimes prosecutions.Whether rules of international criminal procedure are formally effective in the domestic legal order remains to be seen. There is no clear obligation under international law to do so. Furthermore, the law of international criminal procedure may be difficult to harmonise with domestic inquisitorial systems.In spite of these difficulties, the article concludes that national courts will increasingly face similar procedural problems in complex war crimes trials as international criminal tribunals and will be happy to learn from their experiences.

Download Full-text