Accountability for Human Rights Atrocities in International Law

The authors examine the scope of international crime, the mechanisms created by states for enforcing the law, and the practical difficulties of applying them, and conclude with an assessment of the future of accountability. This edition has been revised and updated to include developments since 1997.

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The fall of dictatorial regimes and the eruption of destructive civil conflicts around the world have led to calls for holding individuals accountable for human rights atrocities. International law had little to say on this subject from the time of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials fifty years ago until very recently. In this well-researched book, Steven Ratner and Jason Abrams offer a comprehensive study of the promise and limitations of international criminal law 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 and crimes against humanity. They go on to appraise the most important prosecutorial and other mechanisms developed to bring individuals to justice. After applying their conclusions in a detailed case study, the authors offer a series of compelling conclusions on the prospects for accountability. In this new edition the authors also cover recent developments such as the jurisprudence of the UN's Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals, new domestic attempts at accountability, and the International Criminal Court.
This new edition has been revised and updated to include developments since 1997, including domestic prosecutions and truth commission, the work of the UN's Yugoslavia and Rwand Tribunals, and the International Criminal Court.