Judging war crimes and torture : : French justice and international criminal tribunals and commissions (1940-2005) / / by Yves Beigbeder.

• Author: Beigbeder, Yves.
• Year of Publication: 2006
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Nijhoff eBook titles 2006
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (402 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Even democracies commit war crimes. France, like other democracies, has not always kept up to the high standards expected from the „homeland of human rights”. Its colonial past shows that what it termed its “civilizing mission” was tainted with military, economic and religious abuses, denounced by a few courageous groups and individuals, and revealed in a few public trials. The Vichy government’s willing participation in Jewish persecution during the German occupation of France was ignored or denied until trials (Barbie, Touvier, Papon) brought to light these unpleasant facts in the 1990's. France’s participation in the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals was relatively minor but useful. However, its participation in later international tribunals (Ex-Yugoslavia, Rwanda) revealed a few conflicts between French politics and the work of these tribunals. France’s participation in the International Criminal Court is also reviewed. These developments show that even democratic countries, like France but not France alone, can commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and even be accomplices in genocides. Reasons include pressures in exceptional periods of internal and/or external political/military tensions, nationalist policies, lack of judiciary independence, and lack of media exposure to abuses. However, past crimes must be recalled and exposed, particularly if they have been hidden, covered by amnesties, and not judicially punished. They must be visible as part of a country’s history in order to ensure that they are not repeated.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Chapter 1. French Democracy and Justice -- Chapter 2. French Colonialism -- Chapter 3. The French Vietnam War (19461954) -- Chapter 4. Madagascar: Revolt and Repression 19471948 -- Chapter 5. French Algeria: the Dirty War (19541962) -- Chapter 6. Vichys Regime, Legislation and Justice -- Chapter 7. Post-Liberation Myth, Purge and Trials -- Chapter 8. From Barbie to Papon -- Chapter 9. The Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals -- Chapter 10. The Genocide in Rwanda -- Chapter 11. Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia -- Chapter 12. The International Criminal Court -- Chapter 13. Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Index.