Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-wpx69 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-05T09:56:23.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Epilogue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2018

Leila Nadya Sadat
Affiliation:
Washington University, St Louis
Benjamin B. Ferencz
Affiliation:
International Criminal Court
Get access

Summary

An elementary principle of law and justice holds that those responsible for the illegal use of force should be brought to personal account in a court of law. The learned contributors to this book have noted that what is right is not always or easily attainable. The world continues to be awash with massive killings of innocent people while perpetrators remain immune. Important treaties remain ignored as “scraps of paper.” We have not yet found a satisfactory way to deter such crimes and convince the public that it is in their own self-interest to behave toward others in a more peaceful and humane way. Perfectionists say: “It can't be done, so why bother trying?” Others insist that peace is mandatory or all life on Planet Earth may be destroyed. It was the hope of the Nuremberg trials that the force of law might replace the law of force. Without effective accountability, law loses its power and meaning. As the sole surviving Nuremberg war crimes prosecutor, having spent most of my ninety-seven years trying to prevent crimes against humanity, allow me to share some personal experiences and views that may enlighten the distant horizon.

The war crimes trials following World War II marked a significant step forward in the evolution of international criminal law. The judicial determination by highly respected jurists was that illegal war-making described as a “crime against peace” was punishable by an international tribunal. It would be unjust to allow the leading perpetrators to go unpunished. The fairness of the open trials gave credence to the fact that deeds which had been hailed in the past as heroic patriotism would in the future be condemned as “the supreme international crime.” As a U.S. combat soldier in World War II (awarded battle stars for not having been killed or wounded in five major battles), I can testify of my personal knowledge that war becomes the breeding ground for every possible atrocity. There has never been a war without genocide, massive rapes, torture, and similar crimes against humanity.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Epilogue
  • Leila Nadya Sadat, Washington University, St Louis
  • Book: Seeking Accountability for the Unlawful Use of Force
  • Online publication: 21 May 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316941423.024
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Epilogue
  • Leila Nadya Sadat, Washington University, St Louis
  • Book: Seeking Accountability for the Unlawful Use of Force
  • Online publication: 21 May 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316941423.024
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Epilogue
  • Leila Nadya Sadat, Washington University, St Louis
  • Book: Seeking Accountability for the Unlawful Use of Force
  • Online publication: 21 May 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316941423.024
Available formats
×