29 Jan The Oxford Companion to International Criminal Justice
Every law professor has that one edited book to which they wish they had contributed. This one is mine. The contributors read like a Who’s Who of international criminal law:
A. Major Problems of International Criminal JusticePart I. How to Face International CrimesCollective Violence and International Crimes,State Responsibility and Criminal Liability of Individuals,Alternatives to International Criminal Justice,Part II. Fundamentals of International Criminal LawSources of International Criminal Law,General Principles of International Criminal Law,International Criminalization of Prohibited Conduct,Gender-related Violence and International Criminal Law and Justice,Modes of International Criminal Liability,Part III. The Interplay of International Criminal Law and Other Bodies of LawComparative Criminal Law as a Necessary Tool for the Application of International Criminal Law,The Influence of the Common Law and Civil Law Traditions on International Criminal Law,Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law,Part IV. International Criminal TrialsThe Rationale for International Criminal Justice,International Criminal Justice in Historical Perspective: The Tension Between States’ Interests and the Pursuit of International Justice,The ICC as a Turning Point in the History of International Criminal Justice,The ICC and Third States,Politics and Justice: The Role of the Security Council,Problematic Features of International Criminal Procedure,Cooperation of States with International Criminal Tribunals,Means of Gathering Evidence and Arresting Suspects in Situations of States’ Failure to Cooperate,International v. National Prosecution of International Crimes,Judicial Activism v. Judicial Restraint in International Criminal Justice,B. Issues, Institutions, and PersonalitiesC. Cases
As the Table of Contents indicates, the book has a somewhat schizophrenic structure: the first section contains essays — all of which are essential reading — while the second and third essentially constitute an encyclopedia of international criminal law. Section C, which provides capsule summaries of dozens of international and national cases involving international crimes — many of which are very obscure and nearly impossible to research — should prove particularly useful for students and scholars of ICL. That section is worth the price of admission alone.
Even better, that price is impressively reasonable: $260 for the hardback, $90 for the paperback. The paperback is a particularly good deal, given that the book checks in at more than 1000 pages.
Buy the book. And ask the editors to invite me to contribute to the next edition.
Oh you’re totally getting an invite now! (and it would be well deserved)
I am sad that $260 has become reasonable for texts like this. I could buy eleven regular books for that price. Consider me a holdout for the paperback. 😉
Mike,
The paperback is already out. (I have it.) As I said in the post, it’s priced more reasonably at $90.00.
Kevin,
When I looked up the pbk. at Amazon here in the states I was asked to sign up for an e-mail notice so as to be informed when it is available, so it seems one cannot as of yet purchase it, at least over here via Amazon (I usually check for availability from them, and then order it from our local bookseller, who deserves the bulk of my book orders). Anyway, I do appreciate learning of its publication and hope you are indeed asked to contribute to the next edition .
Response…as the publisher of the book I should just point out that there is usually a gap of about 4-6 weeks between official publication of a title in the UK and the US as that is how long it takes the stock to travel between the warehouses on opposite sides of the Atlantic.