A rebours de la croyance populaire qui veut que le temps efface les blessures, le constat s'impose de l'omniprésence de la mémoire comme matrice des orientations décidées par nos gouvernants. Soixante-dix ans après la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, elle occupe l'espace public dans toutes ses composantes et pousse à l'adoption de lois de reconnaissance des victimes et de sanction des discours de négation. Parallèlement, le législateur doit répondre à ses engagements conventionnels et satisfaire aux exigences de la justice pénale internationale. Mais ici encore, les contingences politiques sont fortes, qui sclérosent la réflexion juridique et conduisent à l'élaboration de dispositions controversées. Ce phénomène, ostensible en France, l'est moins chez notre voisin allemand, pourtant tributaire d'un lourd héritage mémoriel. Cette observation peut surprendre celui qui ne tient pas compte des évolutions conjointes mais divergentes des deux Etats depuis 1945, quant à la « gestion » des crimes internationaux par nature et de leurs suites ; d'où l'utilité d'une approche transversale, historique et comparative de ces questions. / Contrary to the popular belief that the time clears injuries, the finding must be made of the omnipresence of the memory as a matrix of guidelines decided by our leaders. Seventy years after the World War II ended, it occupies public space in all its components and drives the adoption of laws recognizing victims and punishing speech of negation. Meanwhile, the legislature must meet its conventional obligations and the requirements of international criminal justice. But again, the political contingencies are strong, which block legal thinking and lead to the creation of controversial provisions. This phenomenon, striking in France, is less at our german neighbor, yet reliant on a heavy legacy memorial. This observation may surprise those who do not consider the joint but divergent evolutions of the two states since 1945, on the « treatment » of international crimes by nature and their consequences ; hence the usefulness of a transverse, historical and comparative approach to these issues.

Les crimes contre l’humanité, les crimes contre la paix, les crimes de guerre, le génocide constituant le noyau dur des crimes internationaux représentent les actes qui causent les dommages les plus graves à la sécurité humaine et internationale. Ils sont codifiés dans les statuts des tribunaux pénaux internationaux. Les crimes transnationaux ou les crimes de traités ne sont pas codifiés dans ces statuts ou sont codifiés d’une manière assez limitée. L’apartheid, la torture, l’esclavage, la piraterie maritime, le terrorisme sont les exemples de ces crimes. Selon les règles de transformation du système international de Morton Kaplan, une variable du système international cause des transformations ou joue un rôle dans l’essor des systèmes internationaux. Le noyau dur des crimes internationaux est abordé dans notre travail comme l’une de ces variables du système. Dans ce but, le système bipolaire (1945- 1991), le nouvel ordre mondial (1991-2001) et le nouveau système depuis les attentats de 11 septembre 2001 ont été analysés. Les Tribunaux Internationaux de Nuremberg, de Tokyo, pour l’Ex-Yougoslavie, pour le Rwanda et la CPI sont devenus les études de cas. / Crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, war crimes and genocide constitute the hard core of most threatful acts to human and international security. They have been codified through the statutes of international criminal tribunals. Transnational crimes or treaty crimes are not codified in these statutes or they are narrowly codified. Examples of such crimes include the apartheid, torture, slavery, maritime piracy, and terrorism. According to the rules of international system transformation as defined by Morton Kaplan, one variable of the international system entails transformations and plays a role in the emergence of international systems. In this study, the hard core of international crimes is considered as one of the variables of the system. Thus, the bipolar system (1945-1991), the new world order (1991- 2001) and the new system after September 11 attacks are analysed. International Tribunals such as Nuremberg, Tokyo, for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and the International Penal Court constitute case studies.

This dissertation examines the trial of Japanese war crimes conducted by Australia between 1945 and 1951; although the study commences in 1943, when the Government first focussed on the issue, and ends in 1961, when the issue was closed. Beyond providing an overview of the trials the thesis addresses the major criticism of the trials by looking at whether the trails were fair and if they fulfilled Australian aims. This is addressed within the context of the two elements of international law, the political, and the legal, and examined in each of the three sections. The Policy section establishes the political context of the trials by examining the influence of the international community and the Australian Government. Both influenced structure and progress rather than the final application of the law. When Australian attitudes were incongruous with international views, a perception that Australia was harsh and repressive developed even though justice was an important part of the Government???s agenda. A study of legal aspects of the trials commences in the Procedures section. Australia???s legislation and regulations are explained with particular emphasis on the more controversial aspects, and a comparison is made with the war crimes instruments of other Allies trying the Japanese showing many similarities between the regulations used by other nations and Australia???s. Procedures also discusses the framework for the Australian trials, the procedures used to bring a case to trial, the process used in court, the review process and the carrying out of sentences. Such a thorough study of the procedural basis is necessary to evaluate the individual trials. Practical examples of some of the procedural problems are also discussed in the following section ??? Practice. This section reviews a number of trials and the various types of crimes and the claims made in defence to show how Australia applied and interpreted the law. The study finds many similarities between Australia???s application of the law and the practice of other nations, indicating that Australian courts were applying what was considered to be customary expectations of behaviour. Throughout the trials there was little evidence of vindictiveness or revenge, either by Government or in the courts. Both were faced with significant problems, which were not always dealt with well but overall the trials were fair and those involved were concerned that justice should not only be seen to be done, but actually be done.

This dissertation examines the trial of Japanese war crimes conducted by Australia between 1945 and 1951; although the study commences in 1943, when the Government first focussed on the issue, and ends in 1961, when the issue was closed. Beyond providing an overview of the trials the thesis addresses the major criticism of the trials by looking at whether the trails were fair and if they fulfilled Australian aims. This is addressed within the context of the two elements of international law, the political, and the legal, and examined in each of the three sections. The Policy section establishes the political context of the trials by examining the influence of the international community and the Australian Government. Both influenced structure and progress rather than the final application of the law. When Australian attitudes were incongruous with international views, a perception that Australia was harsh and repressive developed even though justice was an important part of the Government???s agenda. A study of legal aspects of the trials commences in the Procedures section. Australia???s legislation and regulations are explained with particular emphasis on the more controversial aspects, and a comparison is made with the war crimes instruments of other Allies trying the Japanese showing many similarities between the regulations used by other nations and Australia???s. Procedures also discusses the framework for the Australian trials, the procedures used to bring a case to trial, the process used in court, the review process and the carrying out of sentences. Such a thorough study of the procedural basis is necessary to evaluate the individual trials. Practical examples of some of the procedural problems are also discussed in the following section ??? Practice. This section reviews a number of trials and the various types of crimes and the claims made in defence to show how Australia applied and interpreted the law. The study finds many similarities between Australia???s application of the law and the practice of other nations, indicating that Australian courts were applying what was considered to be customary expectations of behaviour. Throughout the trials there was little evidence of vindictiveness or revenge, either by Government or in the courts. Both were faced with significant problems, which were not always dealt with well but overall the trials were fair and those involved were concerned that justice should not only be seen to be done, but actually be done.

Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Abstract: This study analyses the reporting of the Iraqi prisoner abuse issue at Abu Ghraib as reported upon by two South African newspapers from an ethical point of view. The focus falls on the issue of accuracy. Accuracy in war reporting of geographically distant conflicts as exemplified with this case study is a delicate and important matter, the media often being the only window for the public to learn of and about a conflict. In this case study, the two South African newspapers Cape Times and Mail&Guardian will be analysed to show the extent of their adherence to codes of conduct and exemplify the problematic practicalities in ethical reporting on international news. With the main focus of the study being on the ethical issues concerning accuracy, other relevant topics, such as ‘objectivity’, balance, fairness and truth telling, as well as more practical concerns will also be partially considered. The selected case studies are contextualized within the South African media environment so as to yield a better insight into the choices made on an editorial and/or newsroom level. As case studies, selected articles from the Cape Times and the Mail&Guardian during a three-month time-span are analysed using Day’s Situation/Analysis/Decision (SAD) model. Each article will further be analysed from the point of view of the newspaper’s own code of conduct and overarching ethical codes such as the South African Press Ombudsman’s Code of Conduct as well as in terms of the South African laws relevant to the media industry.

Around the world, the armed conflicts of recent years have been characterized by including the participation of child soldiers. Children, due to the vulnerability of their short age, suffer in a special manner of the war effects, and often their human rights are violated irreversibly. International Law has a duty to provide effective answers to tackle this situation, ensuring that children can be protected against those risks and that their rights can be guaranteed. / A nivel mundial, los conflictos armados de los últimos años se han caracterizado por incluir la participación de niñas y niños soldados. Estos, por la vulnerabilidad propia de su corta de edad, sufren de manera diferenciada de los efectos de la guerra y ven afectados sus derechos humanos, algunas veces de manera irreversible. El Derecho Internacional tiene el deber de brindar erspuestas a esta situación, velando en otdo momento porque niños y niñas puedan ser protegidos frente a tales riesgos y que sus derechos puedan ser garantizados.

United Nations peacekeeping forces and operations, have long had a history of crimes against civilians by its personnel, not least concerning crimes of sexual exploitation and abuse. While human rights violations are grave despite their origin, there is a specific element of impunity and distrust when the same people who comes to ‘protect’, are the same people who become perpetrators. In this sense, it is notably interesting and important to examine victims’ rights to access justice when crimes have been committed by UN Personnel. The primary aim is to explore to what extent the fore-mentioned victims have the possibility to access justice within the legal system of UN Transitional Administrations. These UN operations are chosen since it is particularly important to examine the extent to which victim’s may access justice when the UN exercises governmental powers and acts as a quasi-state. An underlying aim is to explore how the eventual inconsistencies within this system may be colored by postcolonial tendencies. In this sense, the study is conducted through a doctrinal method with a postcolonial perspective, examining the normative aspects of law in the light of a critical lens. The legal basis and the legal obligations of UN Transitional Administrations are compared to the International Standard on Victims’ rights and evidence on how victims’ rights to access justice is practiced within these administrations. Finally, the aim is to evaluate the result of this analysis from the standpoint of postcolonial theory.

in English Dissertation Thesis David Kohout: Legal-Historical Aspects of Punishment of Nazi Criminals on the Background of the Adolf Eichmann Trial This Dissertation on the topic of "Legal-Historical Aspects of Punishment of Nazi Criminals on the Background of the Adolf Eichmann Trial" seeks to analyze the main approaches to the prosecution and punishment of the Nazi crimes. It was chosen to use the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in years 1961 - 1962 as a connecting thread of this whole work. It was so not only due to the individual remarkableness of the trial but also due to the fact that it was in many ways a very illustrative for the previous legal development until that time. Additionally, many commentators of this trial attribute it a great impact on the renewal of the interest in the prosecution of former Nazis who were implicated in perpetration of crimes committed until 1945 and who remained at large after the end of war. Therefore this Thesis goes beyond the Eichmann trial and focuses on its broader context in material but also personal sense (in the text it often referred to cases of prosecution of close collaborators of Adolf Eichmann). In the opening chapters this Dissertation, however, starts with events that go far back in time before the Adolf Eichmann trial. This is for the...

This thesis investigates both substantive and procedural issues pertaining to allegations of crimes committed by UN peacekeepers in three African countries, Somalia, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the current UN Model Status-of-Forces Agreements, criminal jurisdiction over peacekeepers rests with their sending States. However, although the UN has no criminal jurisdiction, it has been the Office of Internal Oversight Services that has conducted investigations. It is argued that every Status of Force Agreement and every Memorandum of Understanding should contain specific clauses obligating Troop-Contributing Countries to prosecute and the UN to follow-up. If rape, murder, assault, and any other crimes by UN peacekeepers go unpunished, the message sent to the victims is that peacekeepers are above the law. Rape is the most commonly committed crime by peacekeepers, but is usually considered as an isolated act. The procedural issue of prosecuting peacekeepers is investigated in order to establish whether troops can be caught under the ambits of the criminal law of the Host State to hold UN troops criminally accountable for their acts. The laws relative to the elements of each crime and the possible available defences under the three Host States, and the criminal law of South Africa as a Troop-Contributing Country, are discussed. The apparent lack of prosecution is investigated and existing cases of prosecution discussed. Alternatives to the unwillingness by States with criminal jurisdiction under the Status of Forces Agreement or under the Memorandum of Understanding are considered. Considering the current rules related to crimes committed by peacekeepers, the argument put forward is that crimes by peacekeepers must be dealt with completely and transparently though a Convention aiming at barring Troop-Contributing Countries who do not meet their obligations under international law from participating in future operations of peace. This thesis, furthermore, suggests a tripartite court mechanism to fill the lacunae in the law relating to the prosecution of peacekeepers. It considers the issues of reserving jurisdiction over peacekeepers to the Troop-Contributing Countries which are reluctant to prosecute repatriated alleged perpetrators. The victims’ importance in criminal proceedings and their their right to a remedy are highlighted. / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL.D.

Vingt et un an après la création du Tribunal International pour le Rwanda et dix-sept ans après la signature du traité de Rome donnant naissance à la Cour pénale international, la fièvre dénonciatrice que connait cette institution n’est toujours pas apaisée. La CPI est-elle otage des idéaux qui justifient sa création et des forces politiques antagonistes auxquelles elle reste malgré tout liée ? Les africains commettraient-ils davantage de crime passibles de poursuites devant la Cour que les ressortissant d’autres continents ? Si l’étude des procédures judiciaires nées des crimes commis dans des conflits se déroulant sur le continent africain et l’analyse des procédures de mise en cause de certains Chefs d’Etats africains soulignent le très important travail de lutte contre l’impunité que réalise la Cour pénale internationale, le bilan de ce travail met toutefois en évidence la collision des procédures judiciaires avec des impératifs politiques internationaux. Ce travail de recherche montre que si la CPI se veut un prolongement de la sécurité collective, l’efficacité de son action et son universalisme sont aujourd’hui mise en doute, au point de cristalliser les rapports de l’organisme judiciaire international avec le continent africain. / Twenty-one year after the creation of the International Tribunal for Rwanda and seventeen years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome giving rise to the International Criminal Court, the whistleblower fever that knows this institution is still not appeased. Is the ICC hostage ideals that justified its creation and antagonistic political forces which it nevertheless remains bound? African they commit more crime prosecuted before the Court that the national of other continents? If the study of legal proceedings arising from crimes committed in conflicts taking place on the African continent and in the analysis of the party proceedings of some African Heads of States stress the very important work to fight against impunity that makes the International Criminal Court, the outcome of this work, however, shows the collision of legal proceedings with international political imperatives. This research shows that if the ICC is an expansion of collective security, the effectiveness of its action and universalism are now in doubt, as to crystallize the reports of the international judicial body with the mainland African.