Culture under Cross-Examination

International Justice and the Special Court for Sierra Leone

Tim Kelsall (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

314 Seiten

2009
Cambridge University Press (Verlag)
978-0-521-76778-1 (ISBN)

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Using an approach that combines anthropological and political analysis, this book examines the roles of military command, mystical powers, child soldiers, forced marriage and fact-finding in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, arguing that cultural differences have obstructed justice and that international justice requires a more multicultural approach.

The international community created the Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute those who bore the greatest responsibility for crimes committed during the country's devastating civil war. In this book Tim Kelsall examines some of the challenges posed by the fact that the Court operated in a largely unfamiliar culture, in which the way local people thought about rights, agency and truth-telling sometimes differed radically from the way international lawyers think about these things. By applying an anthro-political perspective to the trials, he unveils a variety of ethical, epistemological, jurisprudential and procedural problems, arguing that although touted as a promising hybrid, the Court failed in crucial ways to adapt to the local culture concerned. Culture matters, and international justice requires a more dialogical, multicultural approach.

Tim Kelsall works as an Associate of the Africa, Politics and Power Programme and as a Visiting Fellow at the Berkeley War Crimes Studies Center based in Phnom Penh. In the past he has taught Politics at the universities of Oxford and Newcastle and has been an editor of the journal African Affairs.

1. White man's justice? Sierra Leone and the expanding project of international law; 2. The story of the CDF trial; 3. An unconventional army: chains of command in a patrimonial society; 4. Facts, metaphysics and mysticism: magical powers and the law; 5. We cannot accept any cultural consideration: the child soldiers charge; 6. 'He's not very forthright': finding the facts in a culture of secrecy; 7. Cultural issues in the RUF, AFRC, and Charles Taylor trials; 8. Conclusion: from legal imperialism to dialogics.

Erscheint lt. Verlag	22.10.2009
Reihe/Serie	Cambridge Studies in Law and Society
Verlagsort	Cambridge
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	630 g
Themenwelt	Recht / Steuern ► Allgemeines / Lexika
	Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
	Recht / Steuern ► Öffentliches Recht ► Völkerrecht
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	0-521-76778-4 / 0521767784
ISBN-13	978-0-521-76778-1 / 9780521767781
Zustand	Neuware