Writing history in international criminal trials

"This book uses empirical research on three international criminal tribunals to understand how law and history are combined in the courtroom"--

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wilson, Richard, 1964-
Corporate Author: ebrary, Inc
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011.
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Online Access:An electronic book accessible through the World Wide Web; click to view
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Description
Summary:"This book uses empirical research on three international criminal tribunals to understand how law and history are combined in the courtroom"--
"Why do international criminal tribunals write histories of the origins and causes of armed conflicts? Richard Ashby Wilson conducted empirical research with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and expert witnesses in three international criminal tribunals to understand how law and history are combined in the courtroom. Historical testimony is now an integral part of international trials, with prosecutors and defense teams using background testimony to pursue decidedly legal objectives. Both use historical narratives to frame the alleged crimes and to articulate their side's theory of the case. In the Slobodan Milo�sevi�c trial, the prosecution sought to demonstrate special intent to commit genocide by reference to a long-standing animus, nurtured within a nationalist mind-set. For their part, the defense calls historical witnesses to undermine charges of superior responsibility, and to mitigate the sentence by representing crimes as reprisals. Although legal ways of knowing are distinctive from those of history, the two are effectively combined in international trials in a way that challenges us to rethink the relationship between law and history"--
Physical Description:xiv, 257 p. : ill.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.