A historical survey of international humanitarian law and the prosecution to war criminals will be considered, with emphasis on post World War II development including the International Military Tribunals (Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals), the two ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the hybrid tribunals for Sierra Leone, East Timor and Cambodia. The substantive jurisdiction and procedural law of the ad hoc criminal tribunals will be discussed, highlighting theoretical and practical problems associated with the international prosecution of war criminals. The course will conclude with a consideration of the problems associated with the establishment and a consideration of the first cases of the International Criminal Court.
The objective of the course will be to explore the theoretical and practical significance of the prosecution of war criminals for the enforcement of international humanitarian law.