Tackling the big issues
Dr Gideon Boas
A Monash academic is driving debate on how the international community responds to war crimes and massive human rights violations.
Associate Professor Gideon Boas is convening the symposium “Is International Criminal Justice Coherent and Legitimate?” to be held next week, as part of a broader project, International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its Relevance to Australia’s security, which will contribute to academic and policy perspectives in this area.
International Criminal Justice addresses how the international community and individual countries should respond to mass atrocity, an issue of continuing relevance.
“As the International Criminal Court seeks arrest warrants for Gaddafi in Libya, and as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) awaits the transfer of Ratko Mladic (the ‘Butcher of the Balkans’), international criminal justice seems alive and well,” Dr Boas said.
“Still, there are many facets of international justice, not all of which are encouraging, and require critical attention. How and why does the international community choose to respond to some crises but not others; who is protected and who is left to suffer?”
Dr Boas, who was a Senior Legal Officer at the ICTY and has worked for the Red Cross, will be joined at the symposium by a number of international and local experts on International Criminal Justice from a variety of disciplines.
“One of our core aims is to critically assess the different strands of law, politics, history, psychology and other disciplines that make up International Criminal Justice, and to analyse the underlying themes, principles and policies that will lead to a better understanding of its various roles in national and international law,” said Dr Boas.
“We need to develop a better understanding of International Criminal Justice. What role is played by international organisations like the UN, what is our responsibility here in Australia, who are the stakeholders and how should we respond to a complex and multifaceted problem such as mass violence and social rupture?”
Associate Professor Boas said that the papers presented at the Symposium will later be published in a collection which he will co-edit with eminent international project partners, Professors William Schabas and Michael Scharf.
‘Is International Criminal Justice Coherent and Legitimate?’ will be held from 3 to 4 June, 2011 at the Monash University Law Chambers, 472 Bourke Street, Melbourne. Further details are available on the Monash Faculty of Law website.