Critical Approaches to International Criminal Law
An Introduction

Drawing on the critical legal tradition, the collection of international scholars gathered in this volume analyse the complicities and limitations of International Criminal Law. This area of law has recently experienced a significant surge in scholarship and public debate; individual criminal accountability is now firmly entrenched in both international law and the international consciousness as a necessary mechanism of responsibility. Critical Approaches to International Criminal Law: An Introduction shifts the debate towards that which has so far been missing from the mainstream discussion: the possible injustices, exclusions, and biases of International Criminal Law.

This collection of essays is the first dedicated to the topic of critical approaches to international criminal law. It will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of international criminal law, international law, international legal theory, criminal law, and criminology.

Introduction Christine Schwöbel, Part I: Critique as an Agenda, chapter 1 International Criminal Justice: A Critical Research Agenda Frédéric Mégret, chapter 2 Critical Orientations: A Critique of International Criminal Court Practice Sara Kendall, chapter 3 Who are ‘We’ in International Criminal Law? On Critics and Membership Immi Tallgren, chapter 4 Critique, Complicity and I Michelle Farrell, Part II: The Politics of International Criminal Law, chapter 5 Unveiling (and Veiling) Politics in International Criminal Trials Tor Krever, chapter 6 Reading the Political in the Lebanon Tribunal’s Decision on Jurisdiction and Legality Heidi Matthews, Part III: International Criminal Legal Histories Revisited, chapter 7 Linear Law: The History of International Criminal Law Gerry Simpson, chapter 8 Silences in International Criminal Legal Histories and the Construction of the Victim Subject of International Criminal Law: The Nineteenth Century Slave Trading Trial of Joseph Peters Emily Haslam, chapter 9 Making ICL History: On the need to move beyond prefab critiques of ICL Grietje Baars, Part IV: The Visible and the Invisible in International Criminal Law, chapter 10 International Criminal Law and Individualism: An African Perspective Christopher Gevers, chapter 11 An Arresting Event: Assassination within the Purview of International Criminal Law Michelle Burgis-Kasthala, chapter 12 The Market and Marketing Culture of International Criminal Law Christine Schwöbel, Epilogue Bella. A Love Song for War Johannes CS Frank,

Christine Schwöbel is Lecturer in Law at the University of Liverpool. She specializes in international law, particularly the narratives surrounding global constitutionalism, global governance, international criminal law, and international human rights law. Her publications include Global Constitutionalism in International Legal Perspective (Martinus Nijhoff/Brill 2011).