(Download) "Lawfare and International Tribunals: A Question of Definition? A Reflection on the Creation of the "Khmer Rouge Tribunal" (Symposium: Lawfare)" by Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Lawfare and International Tribunals: A Question of Definition? A Reflection on the Creation of the "Khmer Rouge Tribunal" (Symposium: Lawfare)
- Author : Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law
- Release Date : January 22, 2010
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 301 KB
Description
I. INTRODUCTION I must confess that in over twenty-one years of criminal prosecution, both national and international, I had never encountered the term "lawfare" until I received the invitation to attend this conference. After my initial research and the different presentations here, I understand better why. It seems to me that this term has essentially evolved out of a U.S. military and political context and therefore has had little resonance in international criminal law. (1) From the various attempts at definitions, it does appear to boil down to the use of the judicial system to further political aims, which, I submit, is an essential function of any system of laws. (2) That those aims seem to run counter to prevailing norms or government interest does not appear to change the nature of the system itself which, if it is sound, will assert itself through the proper application of those very laws. Laws are used to express and define the society that elaborates them. They are an evolving reflection of that society, and equating that process to armed conflict seems to me to distort their purpose.