Crimes Trials Research Articles

Era of the Female Witness: Jewish Women and the Trial of Klaus Barbie

Abstract In May 1987, Sabine Zlatin and Simone Lagrange became household names in France after they testified against the infamous Nazi Klaus Barbie, “the Butcher of Lyon,” during his trial for crimes against humanity. On the witness stand, Zlatin’s testimony revealed her perseverance as a Polish-Jewish immigrant involved extensively in wartime rescue and resistance. Meanwhile, Lagrange shared her encounters as a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl whom Klaus Barbie tortured. Throughout Barbie’s trial, national and international media outlets reported frequently on Zlatin and Lagrange’s wartime and postwar lives. The enormous media attention the trial received made it a crucial event during the resurgence of Holocaust memory in France, yet what made this trial unique regarding the role of Jewish women as witnesses was its timing in the aftermath of the women’s rights movement. The feminist movement allowed people to better understand the gendered nature of Zlatin and Lagrange’s testimonies and recognize their persecution and perseverance as women during and after the war. Going forward, the centrality of experiences shared by women shaped how the trial would be remembered, and arguably even influenced a greater consideration of crimes against women within the statutes for crimes against humanity.

Justice in Lyon: Klaus Barbie and France's first trial for crimes against humanity. By Richard J. Golsan. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022. 330 pp. $39.95 paperback

<i>Justice in Lyon: Klaus Barbie and France's first trial for crimes against humanity</i>. By Richard J. Golsan. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022. 330 pp. $39.95 paperback

디지털 증거 선별압수를 위한 인공지능 활용에 대한 고찰

Our society is already experiencing the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Therefore, most of our lives are influenced by the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. One of the core values of the 4th Industrial Revolution is to rebuild the real space in the virtual space by transferring information in the real space to the virtual space. As a result, all objects, movements, and attributes in the real space are digitized and stored. Amid these changes, the importance of digital evidence is already beyond analog evidence. However, investigations and trials of crimes are still conducted only in analog spaces. Therefore, a technical device that connects the digital world and the analog world is required. The problem is that digital evidence and related legal regulations are not sufficient in the current Criminal Procedure Act. Therefore, investigative agencies have a difficult task to collect digital evidence and prove guilt in accordance with precedents and internal regulations.&#x0D; Article 106 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulates a method of confiscating digital evidence. The problem is that among the suspect’s numerous information, it is not easy to collect only information related to criminal charges without violating the suspect’s basic rights. Therefore, as a way to overcome such difficulties, a method of performing seizure using a technical method such as artificial intelligence is being considered. Therefore, as a countermeasure against it, first of all, ground rules for legal procedures must be prepared. In addition, the reliability of artificial intelligence application technology should be recognized from a trusted institution, and users should be able to control the artificial intelligence technology used for screening and seizure. As technology develops in the future, similar problems may continue to occur. Therefore, comprehensive research related to the digital evidence legal system and technology system is needed.

Migration and the Demand for Transnational Justice

Domestic courts sometimes prosecute foreign nationals for severe crimes—like crimes against humanity, genocide, torture, and war crimes—committed on foreign territory against foreign nationals. We argue that migrants can serve as agents of transnational justice. When migrants move across borders, as both economic migrants and refugees, they often pressure local governments to conduct criminal investigations and trials for crimes that occurred in their sending state. We also examine the effect of explanatory variables that have been identified by prior scholars, including the magnitude of atrocities in the sending state, the responsiveness of the receiving state to political pressure, and the various economic and political costs of prosecutions. We test our argument using the first multivariate statistical analysis of universal jurisdiction cases, focusing on multiple stages of prosecutions. We conclude that transnational justice is a justice remittance in which migrants provide accountability and remedies for crimes in their sending states.

Critical stasis and disruptive performances: ICJ and the Anwar R trial in Koblenz

This article explores the extraterritorial criminal court case against Anwar R, a high-ranking member of the Syrian regime on trial for crimes against humanity in Koblenz, Germany. Empirically anchored in ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Koblenz and with the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, the article illuminates the trial as a ‘disruptive performance’. The case against Anwar R punctuates two instances of negative stasis and unsettles two accounts of chronicity, namely, those of the Syrian conflict and of the field of international criminal justice. In order to illuminate the trial as a disruptive performance, the article empirically situates the Koblenz case both in relation to the Syrian war that it relates to, to the international criminal justice apparatus that it is a part of and to the underlying compilation of evidence that substantiates it. It thus clarifies both the symbolic potential and the constitutive process that has brought it into being.

State Violence, Justice, And The Suffering Of Others

In 1955, Alain Resnais's now canonical documentary, Nuit et Brouillard (Night and Fog) ended with an ominous question, asking “who, among us, is keeping watch from this strange watchtower [of the ruins of Auschwitz] to warn of the arrival of our new executioners” who might bring about the return of the “concentrationary plague?” One man had already made it his mission to do so: the French writer and former political deportee David Rousset. Rousset had shaken the French world of letters and politics with the 1946 publication of L'univers concentrationnaire (The Concentrationary Universe), which warned of the civilizational and moral cesura that the Nazi camps had been. The term quickly became a widely used conceptual framework. Former deportee and Catholic writer Jean Cayrol borrowed from it to write his voice-over to Night and Fog. In 1949, Rousset published another text that created a scandal in Cold War France: an Appeal to “fellow deportees” calling upon them to “investigate the USSR's concentrationary universe” (Kuby, 46). This indictment fiercely divided the French left. In 1950, he brought a libel suit against another former deportee, communist writer Pierre Daix, who had accused him of amnesiac “apoliticism” (Kuby, 65–6; Dean, 61). Just before, in the wake of his Appeal, Rousset had founded an organization against concentrationary regimes with those, like him, who had been political deportees. In 1951, it put the Soviet Union on trial for crimes against humanity. Rousset and his organization were involved in many trials, eager to denounce the “new executioners” who had revived the “scourge of the camps” in the postwar world. For many today, he is an “exceptional” man because, as philosopher and critic Tzvetan Todorov argues, he was not paralyzed by the memory of “this painful experience”; instead, he harnessed it into action against dehumanizing state violence. For Todorov, Rousset had allowed morality to prevail over base political considerations.

Assessment and Use Features of the Forensic Experts’ Opinions in the Investigation and Trial of Iatrogenic Crimes

The article analyzes theoretical and practical aspects of assessing and using forensic experts’ opinions in investigation and trial on criminal cases of iatrogenic crimes. Summarized data on the content and stages of the experts’ opinions assessment is given, the features of the conclusions of forensic medical examinations assessment are noted. The absence of complexes of specialized forensic medical research methods of certain varieties of iatrogenic crimes concerning various medical practice areas is considered a factor that impedes the assessment of conclusions by the investigating bodies and court. The author states that evaluating expert opinions by investigators, prosecutors, and courts should not be limited to studying and analyzing only the text of the opinion. A large role is played by specialists’ involvement, interrogations of experts, and other investigative actions, together with the court examining other evidence.

Derechos humanos, vulnerabilidad y pandemia

Este trabajo presenta seis ponencias en torno a los problemas que atraviesan distintos sectores de la población en situación de vulnerabilidad social en el goce de sus derechos humanos en el contexto de la pandemia global de COVID-19. Las exposiciones reflexionan sobre los prejuicios y vulnerabilidades que atraviesan las personas adultas mayores; las violencias de género en contextos de aislamiento; las personas en contextos de movilidad excluidas de las medidas de protección; el tratamiento y priorización de las personas con discapacidad en los centros de derivación de COVID-19; la protección de las garantías penales en la administración de justicia durante los juicios de lesa humanidad llevados en forma remota; y el avance de las causas por crímenes de lesa humanidad durante la pandemia.

Recent History in the Courtroom: Notes on an Experience as an Expert Witness in a Trial for Crimes Against Humanity in Argentina

Abstract In this work I reflect on a new figure that has been gaining presence in trials for crimes against humanity since 2005: the “context witness,” a specialist – usually coming from social sciences – who is presented as a witness and whose contribution is taken as testimonial evidence. I rely on my participation in the oral and public trial “Operation Independence,” in which I testified about my doctoral research on the experience of conscripts in southern Tucumán, Argentina between 1975 and 1977. My argument is that social sciences can provide meticulous reconstructions of the logic of repression, helping us to understand how state terror was possible.

Pressing Issues of Forensic and Expert Support for the Investigation of Iatrogenic Crimes

There has been an increase in the relevance of forensic and expert support for investigating the negligent harm caused by health workers to patients' health, often resulting in death. Such actions (inaction) of medical workers are identified as a specific category of “iatrogenic crimes”. The forensic characteristic of iatrogenic crimes has some distinct features, including their subject, distinctiveness of the circumstances that occur during diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation procedures, as well as the ways of hiding the traces of a crime. To improve the quality of the investigation of iatrogenic crimes, the author proposes to create a forensic information network, substantiates the need to ensure the possibility of remote consultations for investigators with highly qualified medical specialists using telemedicine technologies, and to conduct thorough preparation for the appointment of forensic examinations. It is recommended that the concluding documents of every investigation and trial of iatrogenic crimes include a more detailed presentation of the progress and results of expert opinions' assessment.

Us Counterterrorism and the Denial of Fundamental Rights from Torture to Fair Trial

Despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) exhortation that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,’ the post-9/11 assault on fundamental human rights has proved that this cosmopolitan ideal is under threat. Of the wide-ranging human rights that have been degraded in the name of protecting civilians in the so-called ‘war on terror’, the right to a fair trial is among the most crucial. However, the precursor to its demise was the ejection of the absolute prohibition against torture in the name of protecting the human rights to liberty and freedom, often described as the right to national security. This chapter explores how the US’s co-option of human rights language as a rhetorical tool to eject certain human rights in relation to specific individuals or groups of individuals underpins the growing challenges presented by national security discourse in liberal democracies. In particular it examines the way in which the US response to 9/11, both in the immediate aftermath and almost two decades on, must be addressed and the relationship between individual liberty and national security reconciled if we are to progress toward a more equal, rather than divided, world. The analysis focuses on the current military commissions taking place in Guantanamo where five men are on trial for terrorism and war crimes in relation to the planning and execution of the 9/11 attacks on the US in US v Khaled Sheikh Mohammad et al. The chapter specifically considers the right to trial without undue delay, the right to a public trial and the right to effective remedy for human rights breaches. Finally, the chapter concludes with some observations about how to address the ejection and co-option of human rights in counter-terrorism efforts.

On Judgment: Managing Emotions in Trials of Crimes Against Humanity in Argentina

For over a decade, judicial accountability of mass human rights violations committed during the last civil-military dictatorship in Argentina (1976–1983) has been carried out in federal courts by regular judges, following the rules of the National Code of Criminal Procedure. Research on these trials has focused mainly on the victims and the accused. This article opens a different path by exploring the affective experiences of the judges presiding over and leading the trials.Based on interviews with 18 federal court judges and some participant observation, in this article we present a descriptive exploration of the judges’ experiences and sensemaking processes. We examine the complex interaction between the professional requirement to separate emotions from judgment and the emotional toll that these trials produce in the personal and professional lives of the judges. We end with short reflections on these crimes against humanity trials in the post-Transitional Justice context.

The Drama of Sacrifice ‘So that the Country May Live’. The Last Words of Repressors in Trials for Crimes Against Humanity in Córdoba, Argentina

espanolEn este articulo, analizamos las ultimas palabras de cuatro represores al final de un significativo juicio por crimenes de lesa humanidad realizado en Cordoba, Argentina. Por medio de un analisis semiotico, nos proponemos reconocer las representaciones sobre la historia y las relaciones que los acusados establecen entre el pasado y el presente de los juicios. Nos interesa asignar a un conjunto de discursos, las declaraciones voluntarias de los acusados previas a la lectura de la sentencia, modelos de representacion y formalizacion de las memorias. Estos enunciados forman posicionamientos, o sujetos de enunciacion, y construyen un saber profesional compartido por los militares sacrificados por la patria en el pasado, y los exmilitares sacrificados en el presente judicial. EnglishIn this article, I analyze the last words of four perpetrators at the last stages of their trial for crimes against humanity in Cordoba, Argentina. Through semiotic analysis, I address the representations of the history and relationships that defendants establish between the past and the present of the trials. I am interested in assigning the voluntary declarations of defendants prior to the reading of the sentence, models of representation, and formalization of memories to a set of discourses. I argue that these discourses generate positions, or subjects of enunciation, and build a profesional knowledge shared by the military who sacrificed for the country in the past, and the ex-military sacrificed in the legal present.

Reminiscences of the critical thinking of Lola Aniyar de Castro and the trial of crimes against humanity in Brazil

Reminiscences of the critical thinking of Lola Aniyar de Castro and the trial of crimes against humanity in Brazil

Tiempo y relato en los testimonios de activistas del movimiento de DDHH en Argentina

Debates around Oral History have not ceased for the last years, in spite of having reached certain maturity in their methodological face. Some aspects which refer to professional ethics, to the truthfulness of testimonies, to the way in which oral history is produced and to the property of the historical accounts, still remain object of debate in every Oral History Convention. One of the issues which still needs to be deeply discussed is the time of the testimonies, as a result of the oral history interviews with the protagonists of recent history. Within the last problem referred to as a reflection on “history protagonists´ protagonism” when narrating their memories, we will be able to reconsider the significance of oral testimony as it makes the social actor return to a vivid past which is related to the present of the interview. When it comes to interviewing human rights movements´activists, we can think of a triple protagonism of the social actors, placing them in a permanent position which covers both past and present: 1) That initial protagonism of political activism which begins in the hard years of the last civic-military dictatorship or during the transition to democracy with the search for their disappeared relatives. 2. That protagonism they achieve one more time when they narrate their life experience during the oral history interviews, where building up the historical accounts can only be carried out by those who have experienced history and who have been their direct witnesses. 3. The participation as witnesses/claimants in the trials for crimes against humanity of the last years which, once again, turns Human Rights activists into main characters in a relevant historical deed. In this article, I thus aim at examining the temporal matter and the triple protagonism mentioned above, so as to contribute to the study field with new issues to think about when it comes to using that complex methodology proposed by oral history.

The Formulation Of Community Policing Strategy To Settle Criminal Cases (Within community policing perspective)

It is stipulated in the Criminal Law that only crime by accusation can be abrogated. On the other hand, common criminal cases must be processed within criminal justice system although it is only a minor legal offense. However, reality shows that minor legal offenses have often been put into a crime trial and community has often reacted against such a practice. This stimulates crime investigators to invent more peaceful ways to settle minor legal offenses although such ways are not acknowledged in criminal laws. Therefore, the Indonesian National Police have searched for a breakthrough to settle minor offenses by applying ADR in the form of penal mediation which puts the formulation of community policing strategy as the leading elementKeywords : Formulation, Community Policing, Settle Criminal

The drive for virtual (online) courts and the failure to consider obligations to combat human trafficking – A short note of concern on identification, protection and privacy of victims.

This article examines the introduction of virtual (online) court systems being introduced in parts of the UK in the particular context of human trafficking victims.The justice system in England and Wales is undergoing significant transformation through the use of technology, under a drive for efficiency. The authors argue that online court systems are being implemented without investment into appropriate legal research and with assumptions regarding the approval process, and questions the effect of virtual hearings on the fundamental principles of due process. Whilst identifying vulnerability has been the subject of guidance, it remains unclear how these courts will deal with human trafficking issues. Human trafficking is a highly lucrative industry that extends to all corners of the globe and international as well as UK protocols and legislation exist with the objective to protect and assist the victims of human trafficking, with full respect for their human rights, ensuring a victim-centred approach. The protection of personal data and privacy of all online court users is important; however, trafficked persons belong a particularly vulnerable group, and the protection of their personal data is critical in alleviating the risk of further harm, intimidation, retaliation, or inappropriate use of biometric data.In conclusion, the authors argue that technological solutions to inefficiency have been given priority over justice solutions and just outcomes, without addressing systemic issues in the context of human trafficking.An Online Court…is not, incidentally, (as some press reports have suggested) intended to be a court without judges, or a court where matters in dispute are to be determined automatically by some algorithm embedded in a computer, or by a civil servant. But it is a court where the basic problem facing ordinary people, namely turning their heart-felt grievances into something formulated in legal terms, and enabling them to identify and present their documentary and other evidence, is capable of being addressed electronically and cheaply, so that both their opponents know the case to be met, and the court is equipped at the earliest possible stage with the materials necessary to decide it justly. This statement is from Briggs LJ Addressing the Bar of England and Wales on the use of online courts in 2016.22Briggs LJ The Online Court Counsel Magazine April 2016 〈https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/the-online-court〉Whilst this is a hopeful description of what technology can do for the justice system, this paper seeks to show that perhaps our enthusiasm ought to be restrained until we answer key questions. The authors explore these questions using the example of victims of human trafficking. These persons engage with the justice system in a variety of ways. Some are witnesses to trafficking crimes in a criminal prosecution. Others may themselves be on trial for crimes they were compelled to commit as a result of their trafficking situation. Additionally, they can be party to a civil case, e.g., arising out of an employment situation. In each of these cases there is possibility for the victim to be identified, if they are not already, as somebody who has a right to assistance and support. There is an opportunity for the state to carry out an identification and thus, as explained in this paper, fulfil human rights obligations. What happens when cases go online? There are also serious questions with regard to privacy and data protection and how the implementation of online court processes may act as a barrier to identifying victims of human trafficking. The authors, therefore, advocate for great caution to be used with the introduction of virtual justice and call for additional research to be undertaken in order to gain a clear vision of what the current and future effects of this new system may be.

Las luchas por las memorias en la escena judicial: Una mirada etnográfica sobre los Juicios de Crímenes de Lesa Humanidad

Desde fines de los anos 1970s, familiares de desaparecidos de la dictadura militar argentina emprendieron acciones politicas para exigir Justicia por las violaciones de los derechos humanos cometidas durante la represion. Con la anulacion de las leyes de amnistia en 2005, quedaron abiertos los caminos legales para la responsabilizacion penal. Desde entonces las narrativas sobre el pasado de violencia entraron definitivamente en escena (y en disputa) en los tribunales del pais. Fundamentado en la investigacion etnografica llevada a cabo en los juicios de crimenes de lesa humanidad, el articulo analiza como las victimas, los agentes del Estado acusados de violaciones de los derechos humanos y los actores judiciales han convertido los tribunales en lugar privilegiado para la afirmacion de sentidos al pasado dictatorial. La propuesta es conducir un analisis de la politica y su simbolismo, que considera sobre todo la dimension afectiva, moral y existencial de la accion humana, para problematizar como la escena judicial se ha transformado en espacio de lucha para la produccion de la verdad sobre la dictadura en Argentina

On ‘Civil Party Participation in Trials of Mass Crimes’ by Elisa Hoven

On ‘Civil Party Participation in Trials of Mass Crimes’ by Elisa Hoven

Identifying Patterns of International Criminality with Electronic Surveillance Balancing Crime Control, Privacy and Due Process

Investigators and prosecutors at several of the courts/tribunals are using surveillance technologies whereby patterns of atrocity and links between offenders can be identified. Such surveillance involves the overlapping and sometimes conflicting interests of crime control, privacy and due process. This paper aims to explains the tensions between the interests crime control, privacy and due process and involves the following questions. What is the applicable law relating to surveillance for the purpose of investigations and trials of international crimes before an international tribunal or court? To the extent that this issue has been at hand before an international tribunal or court, have it been resolved in a way that is consistent with international legal requirement on fair trial and due process?