Books

My book, Justice and War Crimes (with a Foreword by Geoffrey Robertson KC), traces the history of ICTY’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) from its creation in early 1994, prior to the arrival of the first Prosecutor, Richard Goldstone, until I left ten years later in 2004.

There was a period when the ICTY faced the prospects of complete failure. The book highlights several turning points which, in my view, turned this around and contributed to the Tribunal’s ultimate success. The OTP achieved the apprehension of every living person indicted by the Tribunal.

Much of this story has never been told before. It is a personal and unique look at the inner workings of the ICTY’s OTP, the first international criminal court since the Nuremburg war crimes tribunal established at the end of the Second World War.

The book pulls no punches in its criticisms of NATO for its lack of enthusiasm in apprehending indicted war criminals, in situations where it had the ability and mandate to do so. It follows the murky path created by those who initially did not want to see NATO involved in the apprehension of ICTY fugitives.

‘Justice and War Crimes’ singles out Croatia and makes well deserved criticism for its lack of cooperation with the Tribunal when it came to investigations involving Croatian perpetrators.

Perhaps controversially, the book critically reveals some unprofessional aspects of the performance of the Tribunal’s third Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte.

On a positive note the book outlines how the Kosovo conflict brought about the indictment and prosecution of President Slobodan Milosevic, the first political leader of any country to be indicted for genocide.

It also describes one of the ICTY’s more obscure achievements namely deterring the outbreak of war in North Macedonia thereby preventing the commission of further war crimes by the potential warring parties.

At a time when Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has again brought the prosecution of modern war crimes to the fore, ‘Justice and War Crimes’ is a timely reminder of the difficulties and complexities involved in the process of bringing political leaders to justice for their crimes while at the same time demonstrating that it is not an impossible task.