The Shifting Status of Grand Narratives in War Crimes Trials and International Law: History and Politics in the Courtroom

Abstract

This contribution addresses the grand narratives that have historically manifested themselves through the so-called pan-movements such as pan-Germanism or pan-Slavism, or resurfaced under the names of ‘Greater Germany’, ‘Greater Serbia’ and ‘Greater Croatia’. The importance of the evidentiary and forensic impact of grand narratives on the proceedings and jurisprudence has to a large extent been underestimated. In all major international war crimes trials, grand narratives constitute part of the conceptual and evidentiary foundation of the trials, discretely blurring the separation line between the concepts of legal and extralegal as applied in the international legal arena. From their initial relevance as a mere contextual necessity, the post-International Military Tribunal (post-IMT) grand narratives may have gradually, and particularly before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), acquired the status of clear-cut forensic evidence. If taken to its ultimate end, this raises the question whether a strong re-emergence of grand narratives in public discourse can, under specific conditions, be viewed through the optic nerves of criminal codes. The trial of Vojislav Seselj, who is currently awaiting judgment before the ICTY, presents a test case in this respect. If adequately addressed, its outcome could mark the turning point in the standard legal approach to grand narratives in international criminal law.