Research Catalog

Title

Judging war crimes and torture : French justice and international criminal tribunals and commissions (1940-2005) / by Yves Beigbeder.

Author

Beigbeder, Yves.

Publication

Leiden ; Boston : Martinus Nijhoff, 2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xxii, 377 p.; 25 cm.

Summary

"Even democracies commit war crimes. France, like other democracies, has not always kept up to the high standards expected from the 'homeland of human rights'. Its colonial past shows that what it termed its 'civilizing mission' was tainted with military, economic and religious abuses, denounced by a few courageous groups and individuals, and revealed in a few public trials. The Vichy government's willing participation in Jewish persecution during the German occupation of France was ignored or denied until trials (Barbie, Touvier, Papon) brought to light these unpleasant facts in the 1990s. France's participation in the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals was relatively minor but useful. However, its participation in later international tribunals (Ex-Yugoslavia, Rwanda) revealed a few conflicts between French politics and the work of these tribunals. France's participation in the International Criminal Court is also reviewed. These developments show that even democratic countries, like France but not France alone, can commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even be accomplices in genocide. Reasons include pressures in exceptional periods of internal and/or external political/military tensions, nationalist policies, lack of judiciary independence, and lack of media exposure to abuses. However, past crimes must be recalled and exposed, particularly if they have been hidden, covered by amnesties, and not judicially punished. They must be visible as part of a country's history in order to ensure that they are not repeated"--Unedited summary from book cover.

Alternative Title

War crimes and torture.

Subject

• Crimes against humanity
• International crimes
• Kriegsverbrechen
• Strafgerichtsbarkeit
• Tribunal
• Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit
• Vo��lkerstrafrecht
• War crimes

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

French democracy and justice -- French colonialism -- The French Vietnam War (1946-1954) -- Madagascar : revolt and repression (1947-1948) -- French Algeria : the "dirty war" (1954-1962) -- Vichy's regime, legislation, and justice -- Post-liberation myth, purge, and trials -- From Barbie to Papon -- The Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals -- The genocide in Rwanda -- Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia -- The International Criminal Court.

ISBN

9004153292 (hd.bd.)

LCCN

• ^^2006284362
• 9789004153295

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library