Accountability for Human Rights Atrocities in International Law - Hardcover

Ratner, Steven R.; Abrams, Jason

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199248338 ISBN 13: 9780199248339

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, USA, 2001

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Ratner is Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Law School. Jason Abrams was formerly working as a Legal Officer with the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations and is now an International Lawyer in New York.

Review

`Ratner and Abrams provide an incisive, knowledgeable, and comprehensive look at the substantive law and legal institutions that inhabit the intersection of international human rights law. The need to hold individuals responsible for abuses of human dignity in war and peace has lately assumed
critical importance for the global community. This volume, with its searching appraisal of contemporary doctrinal issues as well as the promises and pitfalls of mechanisms for accountability, is a timely and essential resource for any scholar or practitioner with an interest in these areas of
international law.'
Richard J. Goldstone

`a timely and highly valuable contribution to the emerging literature on the subject ... an outstanding book that is concise and accessible to a broad audience, yet comprehensive and scholarly ... This excellent book provides a thoroughly researched and eloquently written survey of the legal
and policy framework within which these and other complex issues may be examined. It combines scholarly erudition with a practial sense and thus provides a valuable instrument for the pursuit of international justice. It is indispensable reading for students, practitioners, scholars and others
interested in accountability for gross human rights abuses.'
Payam Akhavan, The American Journal of International Law (Vol 93)

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, USA
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0199248338
• ISBN 13: 9780199248339
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 484