Rendering Global Criminal Law an Instrument of Power: Pragmatic Legalism and Global Tribunals

Graubart, Jonathan

doi:10.1080/14754835.2010.522923

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Finally, consistent with subaltern cosmopolitan concerns, Graubart (2010) warns that the current global criminal justice system reflects a distorted morality as it is "marked by deep inequalities and weak global normative commitments enable great powers and influential local actors to enlist liberal legal structures for their own purposes. The result is a distorted brand of justice that renders law an instrument of power" (Graubart 2010: 411).…”

Section: The Globalization Of Human Rights Mechanisms: Criminal Tribumentioning

confidence: 91%

“…In terms of international tribunals, they conclude that both the ICTY and ICTR failed to "deter subsequent atrocities or contribute to bringing peace in the region" (Snyder andVinjamuri 2003/2004: 20). In Rwanda for example, the Rwandan Patriotic Front engaged in severe revenge killings against Hutus within their state, and in the following years, Rwanda intervened in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to massive death and destruction (Snyder andVinjamuri 2003/2004: 25;Graubart 2010). For domestic tribunals, they find mixed results, with some cases showing marginal deterrence effects and others worsening scenarios.…”

Section: The Globalization Of Human Rights Mechanisms: Criminal Tribumentioning

confidence: 91%

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The Globalization of Law: Implications for the Fulfillment of Human Rights

Brysk¹,

Jiménez²

2012

Journal of Human Rights

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Section: The Globalization Of Human Rights Mechanisms: Criminal Tribumentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: The Globalization Of Human Rights Mechanisms: Criminal Tribumentioning

confidence: 91%

The Globalization of Law: Implications for the Fulfillment of Human Rights

Brysk¹,

Jiménez²

2012

Journal of Human Rights

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“…This gives law both a timeless quality, but also renders the judges' rulings as an application of the law as it really is, rather than a political decision. This gives judicial rulings a symbolic power that places it beyond, or outside, of politics (Madsen, 2018: 190), and reflects what Graubart (2010) saw as the deepening of the legalisation of ICJ at the ICTR.…”

Section: Legalisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting Accounts of Justice: The Legalisation and Politicisation of International Criminal Justice

Redwood

Goozee

2021

Social & Legal Studies

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In December 2015, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda delivered its final verdict in Butare, bringing the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to a close after 21-years. Despite the important role that the tribunal played in confirming international criminal justice as a key transitional justice mechanism, and tool of international peace and security, there has been little retrospective analysis of the court’s history. This article draws on a Bourdieusian field analysis to address the absence and makes two contributions. First, it demonstrates that over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda’s history the tribunal’s conception of justice shifted from a weak form of restorative justice to a more traditional form of retributive justice. Second, it reveals that this shift was the result of a ‘settling’ on the law and, more importantly, UN Security Council interventions. This legalisation and politicisation of trial practice saw a shift in the field from prioritising moral authority to legal and delegated authority.

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“…20 The same can be argued about the dominant IR scholarship on international criminal tribunals. This group of scholars — aptly categorized as “pragmatic legalists” by Graubart (2010) — also differ in their judgment of the functioning of specific legal institutions, the influence of power politics, and even the success so far of the gradual incrementalism in the institutionalization of legal norms. Some openly advocate coming to terms with the reality of power politics, playing up the fact that a “justice cascade” (Sikkink, 2011: 165) is possible even if we have to settle for “victor’s justice of a kind” (Bass, 2001: 329).…”

Section: Part IImentioning

confidence: 99%

The trials of imperialism: Radhabinod Pal’s dissent at the Tokyo tribunal

Varadarajan

2014

European Journal of International Relations

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At the end of the Second World War, the leaders of the defeated Axis powers were tried for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in two specially established international military tribunals. Unlike at the vaunted Nuremberg trials, the judgment of the less-illustrious Tokyo tribunal was not unanimous. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Radhabinod Pal of India comprehensively disagreed with all aspects of the trial, finding all defendants “not guilty” of the charges leveled against them. Despite being considered quite incendiary at that time, the dissenting opinion has been largely ignored by International Relations scholarship analyzing the development of legal norms and institutions in global politics. Notwithstanding its many limitations, the questions raised in Pal’s dissent about criminality, power, and justice, while situated in a specific historical moment, remain far from settled. This article provides a second look at Pal’s dissent in order to recover its unique and critical insights into the relationship between imperialism and the development of international law.

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Rendering Global Criminal Law an Instrument of Power: Pragmatic Legalism and Global Tribunals

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

The Globalization of Law: Implications for the Fulfillment of Human Rights

The Globalization of Law: Implications for the Fulfillment of Human Rights

Shifting Accounts of Justice: The Legalisation and Politicisation of International Criminal Justice

The trials of imperialism: Radhabinod Pal’s dissent at the Tokyo tribunal

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