Prosecuting Human Rights Offences

In Prosecuting Human Rights Offences: Rethinking the Sword Function of Human Rights Law the author explores the features of the procedural obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish human rights offences, and explains how they determine the contemporary understanding of function of criminal prosecution.

A practical analysis of the workings of the criminal law in the context of human rights, dealing systematically with the various stages of investigation, arrest and detention in police custody, court procedure, evidence, sentencing, and appeals.

Is there a duty to prosecute serious human rights violations? This text examines this issue, drawing on international human rights instruments and case law. It finds flaws in the prosecution of these crimes and develops proposals for improvement.

The book explores recent developments in the international and national prosecution of persons accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. It considers the relationship between national and international law, science and practice, with emphasis on the emerging principle of universial jurisdiction and the effect of "the war on terror" on legal norms.

Is there a duty to prosecute serious human rights violations? This book examines this issue, drawing on international human rights instruments and case law. It finds flaws in the current prosecution of these crimes and develops proposals for improvement. Featuring in-depth analysis of trials, amnesties and impunity, it is a unique reference work.

The volume combines different views, backgrounds and underlying assumptions on the prosecution of international crimes. The contributions shed some additional, useful light that might prove helpful for identifying new dimensions of the reaction (judicial or other) towards international atrocities.

This casebook addresses selected precedent-setting rulings of various international human rights and international criminal courts with a focus on the child victims of international crimes and human rights abuses. The cases are analysed from the children’s human rights perspective and the question is examined as to what extent the aforementioned courts are according these children justice. The scope of the book is thus limited to the consideration of these representative important cases concerning violations of (a) international human rights and humanitarian law and (b) international criminal law involving child victims and the judicial remedies accorded or denied these victims and their family members. This is not in any way to diminish the suffering and importance of the adult victims of violations of fundamental human rights and grave international crimes. Rather, the book is intended to deal with the restricted and largely neglected topic of to what extent international courts are attending to the implications of there being child victims with respect to the courts’ addressing and handling of, among other matters, the following: (a) the con?rmation of charges relating to child-speci?c international crimes (i. e. recruitment of child soldiers, forced child marriage etc.

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