Examination of War Crimes Tribunals

International war crimes tribunals have certainly become more prevalent in contemporary times, but have they become the noble, fair, authoritative, and effective guarantors of justice that we had originally hoped for? An Examination of War Crimes Tribunals poses this and other questions, and encourages students to think critically about the meaning of justice and how it can best be served, whether through international tribunals or some other channel.

Lesson One introduces students to the concepts of war crimes and laws of war, and lets them observe how the laws apply in specific war scenarios.

Lesson Two focuses on the application of the laws of war, offering three post-World War II case studies as examples.

Lesson Three introduces students to contemporary international war crimes tribunals. Students view two lectures by Stanford Professor Stephen J. Stedman that offer detailed accounts of the Rwandan genocide and the Yugoslav wars, their causes, and the response from the international community. Students also explore big-picture questions of justice, reconciliation, and peace, and consider alternative methods of promoting social reconstruction after large-scale community violence. Finally, this lesson introduces students to two modern controversies of international law, and asks students to examine these controversies through a consideration of everything they have learned in the unit.