Justice Belied: The Unbalanced Scales of International Criminal Justice

This disturbing collection of articles charges that, in many cases, international justice is not being served. The contributors are journalists, investigators, defense lawyers, and academics with extensive experience in and knowledge of the international judicial system. They offer firsthand accounts of the International Criminal Court, tribunals, and special courts created to provide justice in the aftermath of genocides and crimes against humanity. Authors cite instances of fabricated evidence, collusion between witnesses, intimidation, and bribery of witnesses that they say resulted in unfair and questionable judgments. Former employees of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda provide accounts of massive diversion of funds, employee disappearance, despotism, bribe, kickback, and extortion. Charges of wrongdoing and miscarriage of justice appear throughout the book and reinforce Rwandan reports of discriminatory injustice. The book challenges Western perspectives on events in Rwanda Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, presenting alternative views of these conflicts. The widely held belief that international courts provide justice and redemption to the oppressed is brought into question, and the book challenges the position of Western powers as the guardians of democracy, peace, and fair play. (Nov.)