Travesty: The Trial of Slobodan Milošević and the Corruption of International Justice by John Laughland , Ramsey Clark (review)

Abstract

reviews 577 domestic stability. The chapter dedicated tofarmers finds similar tensions, and as Portargues,itwas theendemicscarcity ofsupplies whichwas a keyfactor in undermining socialsolidarity, forthegrasswas alwaysseento be greener elsewhere.As the authorities were forcedto juggle theirpriorities, some individuals or groupswereinevitably favoured overothers, and perceptions of materialdisparity were only heightened. It should be noted that the willingness of local officials to accommodatethe demandsof workers and farmers was also key in sustaining the stability of the so-called'grumble Gesellschaft ,as manyofficials wenttogreatlengths toavoidopenconfrontation withtheir charges. The questionas towhytheGDR existed forso longisonewhichhasbeen posedrepeatedly in recentyears.Portprovidesa compelling and eloquently written argument whichbringsus closerto understanding the precarious stability oftheGDR and thehighly nuancedinternal workings oftheregime. Despite the lack of bibliography, the detailednotesprovidean exhaustive selection ofsecondary reading, and thebroadercontext is clearly outlined for readerswitha less detailedknowledge ofthe GDR. Whilstthisstudyends in 1 971 - and focuses largely on theearlieryearsoftheUlbricht era - it provides valuableinsight intothecomplexities oflifeintheGDR, andsuggests important linesofenquiry foritslateryears. Bangor University Anna Saunders Laughland,John. Travesty: The TrialofSlobodan Milosevic and theCorruption ofInternational Justice. Witha foreword by RamseyClark. Pluto Press, Londonand AnnArbor,MI, 2007.xiii+ 240pp. Notes.Index.£14.99: $24.95:€22.00(paperback). RamseyClark, former United StatesAttorney-General, encapsulatesthe importance ofthisbook,and thejudicialprocessitanalyses, in hisforeword. He arguesthatthe establishment of the International CriminalTribunal fortheformer Yugoslavia(ICTY) bytheUN Security Councilwas a fundamentalcorruption of international law, an ad hoc executiveorderwhich undermined the primary purposeof the UN preventing war. Instead, thelanguageofinternational law became a toolto legitimize theaggressive interventionist policyof the US and its allies in the Balkans in the late 1990s. This was nowheremore starkly highlighted than in the indictment of Slobodan Milosevicon 27 May 1999,two monthsintoNATO's bombing campaign againstYugoslavia,undertakenwithoutUN SecurityCouncil authorization. International lawwas notjustcorrupted butusedtolegitimize and justify an illegalwar ofaggression. Fromthestart, theICTY and the indictment ofMilosevic weredriven bypartial political concerns. The interestdriven ,instrumental use and abuse of international law, was given full autonomy in thepowersgivento thejudgesto ruleon their ownpowersand procedures. 578 seer, 87, 3, July 2009 Thelackofoversight ofthecourt, a reflection ofitsad hocestablishment byexecutive decision, rather than multi-national treaty, ledtoitsassertion of directly political powers. Thispoliticized andarbitrary useofjudicial power wasmost clearly apparent inthetravesty oflawthat wasthetrial ofMilosevic. The first criminal trial against a headofstate ina UN sanctioned international court, andthelongest criminal trial everrecorded, lasting four years from February 2002toMilosevic's untimely deathincustody on 11March 2006. Travesty istheessential bookofthis trial for those concerned with boththe theory andpractice ofinternational lawandinternational relations, andthe inter-relationship between thetwo.JohnLaughland, whocommented on thetribunal for theGuardian andtheSpectator andwasoneofthelastWestern journalists to interview Milosevic in hisHaguecell,provides an excellent, in-depth andhighly readable account ofthebackground oftheestablishment oftheICTY andtheMilosevic indictment within thecontext ofthechanging nature ofinternational lawinthe'NewWorld Order5 ofthe1990s. Laughland challenges theidea thattheICTY can claimthelegacy of Nuremberg andclearly reveals thead hocandarbitrary nature ofthecourt's powers. Thiswashighlighted inthepost-hoc amendments oftheindictments against Milosevic as newlegalprecedents wereestablished bythecourt. The final charge against Milosevic wasthatofparticipation ina Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE), thebroadest interpretation ofcommand responsibility ever madebyanycourt andonewhich would find BushandBlair responsible not justfor theactsofBritish andUS soldiers inIraq,butfor theactions ofthe IraqipoliceandIraqigovernment agents andsupporters, ifitwasevertobe applied ina similar judicial setting. TheJCEcharge against Milosevic didnotappear intheICTY statute, nor is itaccepted anywhere elseas international criminal law;hisguilt forthe crime ofgenocide couldhavebeenestablished without anyevidence ofeither control overtheperpetrators, or anyshared intent or knowledge oftheir actions. Laughland details theprosecution case,anditsdesire totietheindictments for Kosovowith thelater post-hoc indictments for Croatia andBosnia, under thepolitical charge that Milosevic wasresponsible for warcrimes committed inthewars ofYugoslavia's disintegration onthebasisofhisleadership rolein the'jointcriminal enterprise' ofattempting to establish a Greater Serbia basedontheethnic cleansing ofnon-Serbs. With nomore evidence ofsuchanenterprise than there wasofthe'smokinggun 'ofcommand orders or instructions which breached international legalprinciples, theprosecution tried toestablish a planworking backwards from theconsequences ofwar,pushing three trials intoone and amassing more evidence than anyone couldreadina lifetime. While thehorrors ofwar were documented, thetribunal's attempt torewrite thehistory ofYugoslavia's fragmentation as theresult oftheactions ofMilosevic failed injudicial terms with hisdeath. However, thepolitical battle towhitewash theroleofinternational meddling andlegitimize thewarofaggression against Yugoslavia hasbeenwonbythose whointervened andthose whosympathized with the reviews 579 'warforvalues'overKosovo. Ifyouwishto read thelegalreflection ofthat political victory inthearbitrary procedures ofthead hoctribunal oftheICTY and the corruption of international law, Laughland'sbook is a shocking, depressing, yetwonderfully enlightening place to start. Centre forthe Study ofDemocracy D. Chandler University ofWestminster Boeckh, Katrin and Völkl, Ekkehard. Ukraine.Von derRotenzur Orangerien Revolution. Ost- und...