Global Justice or Global Revenge?: International Criminal Justice at the Crossroads

by Hans Köchler

The evolving concept of universal jurisdiction, the modern doctrine of humanitarian intervention, and the challenges faced by legal theory in addressing issues of international terrorism are subjects of this profound study. The author s main intention is to reflect upon the legal and philosophical foundations of international criminal law in the context of politics. He analyzes the prospects of the International Criminal Court and compares this institution to other forms of universal jurisdiction such as the Security Council s ad hoc tribunals. He also points out the problem of double standards in the current practice of "humanitarian politics . Hans Koechler was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as international observer at the Lockerbie trial in the Netherlands. His experience gained at the "trial of the century motivated him to reflect on the feasibility of international criminal justice and humanitarian intervention in the framework of the present unipolar world order.

Paperback

First published January 8, 2004

About the author

Hans Köchler (1948) is a retired professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations. In his general philosophical outlook he is influenced by Husserl and Heidegger, his legal thinking has been shaped by the approach of Kelsen. Köchler has made contributions to phenomenology and philosophical anthropology and has developed a hermeneutics of trans-cultural understanding[4] that has influenced the discourse on the relations between Islam and the West.