Book Reviews Jones, John R. W. D. The Practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Publishers, 1998. Pp. xvii, 355. $95. Morris, Virginia, and Michael P. Scharf. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Publishers, 1998. 2 vols. $225. Perhaps the genocide that occurred in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda are now behind us. Yet for the victims of the atrocities, their families and the international community, the events that occurred in the two countries cannot be laid to rest without the perpetrators being brought to the book. Victims of the atrocities cry out for justice and as Justice Richard J. Goldstone, the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, warns, 'if those cries for justice go unheeded there is a high probability that sooner or later revenge will result in further and sometimes even worse atrocities'. The fear in the minds of many is that once again impunity may triumph over justice. In the light of these concerns, two books lend fresh insight into the structure and practice of the ad hoc Tribunals set up by the Security Council to try those accused of genocide and other atrocities in the two countries. The Practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda by John Jones offers a rare and very valuable insight into the evolving jurisprudence of the two Tribunals: the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (the Yugoslavia Tribunal) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (the Rwandan Tribunal). The book is structured in two sections and takes the reader on an article-by-article tour of the Statutes establishing the Tribunals and their respective Rules of Procedure and Evidence. The first section of the book focuses on the Statutes of the Tribunals, while the second section, divided into two parts, examines in detail the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunals. The book ends with an annex containing lists of indictments by the Tribunals as of 28 August 1997. The greatest strength of the book is its focus on the emerging case law of the Tribunals discussed according to the relevant provisions of their Statutes and Rules of Procedure and Evidence. For good measure, extensive quotations from the opinions and judgments of the Tribunals, both Trial and Appeal Chambers, are included. The book discusses, for instance, the Yugoslavia Tribunal's rulings on when an armed conflict exists (Tadiæ case: IT-94-1-T), on whether an international armed conflict is required to invoke the jurisdiction of the Tribunal (the Tadiæ case: IT-94-1-T), on the meaning of 'protected persons' under Article 4 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, 1949 (Nikoliæ case: IT-95-2-R61) and (Vukovar case: IT-95-13-R61), on the meaning and scope of 'crimes against humanity' (Tadiæ case and Nikoliæ case), and on the concept of individual responsibility (Karad'iæ and Mladiæ case: IT-95-5-R61 and IT-95-18-R61). Jones' book does not intend and, therefore, does not go into the internal politics of the two Tribunals. It offers very little insight into their legislative and political histories. Despite its title, the book also does not provide detailed insight into the practice of the Rwandan Tribunal. Most of the case law cited is drawn from the practice of the Yugoslavia Tribunal; brief commentaries on the Rwandan Tribunal are appended only by way of comparison at the conclusion of discussions on any given topic. The reader may therefore be left with the misleading impression that the two Tribunals are the same except in name only. Moreover, the concern of many that, compared to the Yugoslavia Tribunal, the Rwandan Tribunal suffers from gross neglect is nowhere expressed in the book. Virginia Morris and Michael Scharf, in their two-volume work, The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, provide a more exhaustive information on the history, establishment and workings of the Rwandan Tribunal. Nearly five years after the genocide in Rwanda which claimed between 500,000 and one million lives, and more than four years since the establishment of the Rwandan Tribunal, the question on the minds of many is how effective this body has been in bringing about desired justice in Rwanda. Was the creation of the Tribunal the best option available for responding to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda? How does the Rwandan Tribunal differ from the Yugoslavia Tribunal? What are its achievements? What problems has it encountered? These are some of the questions that Morris and Scharf attempt to address. For their analysis of the Yugoslavia Tribunal, readers must look to their earlier work, An Insider's Guide to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1995). Volume one is divided into 15 chapters and takes the reader through the legislative history and the development of the Tribunal. Chapter 1 provides the background and historical context of the Tribunal, from past attempts by the international community to conduct war crimes trials after World War I through the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals, to the Yugoslavia Tribunal established in 1993. For those ignorant of the details of the Rwandan genocide, Chapter 2 provides a useful background. Chapter 3 examines the legal basis for the establishment of the Tribunal and subsequent actions challenging its legitimacy. Chapters 4 to 8 address different jurisdictional issues pertaining to the Tribunal: limited jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction and concurrent jurisdiction. Chapters 9 and 10 focus on the organization and rules of procedure and evidence of the Tribunal. Chapters 11 to 13 deal with investigation, indictment, trial and post-trial proceedings. The book ends with Chapter 14 on cooperation and judicial assistance of states, Chapter 15 on general provisions including the seat, status and financing of the Tribunal, and a concluding chapter which looks at the accomplishments and problems of the Tribunal and the prospects for the successful completion of its mandate. Volume 2 is divided into 10 parts and completes this important work by offering a compilation of the rules, reports, statutes and resolutions pertaining to the Tribunal. It contains such materials as Security Council Resolution 955 establishing the Tribunal, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal, the first, second and third reports of the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 5 of Resolution 955, as well as numerous other Security Council and General Assembly resolutions relating to the Tribunal. Useful historical documents relating to the predecessors of the Tribunal, including documents on the Nuremberg Tribunal, the Tokyo Tribunal and the Yugoslavia Tribunal can also be found in the volume. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is invaluable for the insight it lends into the politics of the international security regime, the birth and growing pains of the Tribunal, and the structural differences between the Rwandan Tribunal and the Yugoslavia Tribunal. For example, the book takes the reader from the initial reluctance of the Security Council to acknowledge that genocide had occurred in Rwanda to the outburst by the then Prime Minister-designate of Rwanda, Faustin Twagiramungu,: 'Is what is happening different from what happened in Nazi Germany. Is it because we're Africans that a court has not been set up [for Rwanda]?' (at 62) It also takes the reader through the various steps leading to the establishment of the Tribunal, from the initial appointment of a Special Rapporteur for Rwanda, through to the creation of a Commission of Experts for Rwanda and, finally, Security Council Resolution 955. While Jones glosses over the deep structural differences between the two Tribunals and the perceived difference in the attitude of the international community towards the two bodies, Morris and Scharf address these squarely: 'it is somewhat disconcerting to note that the Rwandan Tribunal has languished in the shadow of the Yugoslavia Tribunal', they observe (at xvii). They go on to discuss some of the difficulties encountered by the Rwandan Tribunal that were not faced by the Yugoslavia Tribunal: 'With the Yugoslavia Tribunal the office of the Prosecutor, Registry and Chambers are all located in a single building in the Hague, with the Rwandan Tribunal the prosecutor's office is seventeen hours away (by car) from the Registry and Trial Chambers in Arusha and twelve hours away (by plane) from the Office of the Prosecutor and the Appeal Chambers in the Hague.' (at 700) The recent conviction by the Rwandan Tribunal of a former mayor, Jean Paul Akayesu, on 2 September 1998, of nine counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, is one that could allay any fears regarding the ability of the Tribunal to deliver. This was the first judgment to be handed down by the Tribunal, the first conviction on genocide by any international court, and the first time an international court found the crime of rape to be an act of genocide. The Tribunal has, however, met with criticisms for slowness, disorganization, mismanagement and corruption. The Tribunal has been established; yet as Morris and Scharf rightly note, 'the tribunal is dependent upon the cooperation of states and the assistance of the competent national authorities at every stage of its work'. They, thus, call on the international community to 'demonstrate the same concern and commitment regarding the effective prosecution and punishment of the individuals … responsible for the genocide in Rwanda' (at xvii) as it has shown in the ongoing process in the Yugoslavia Tribunal. In the final analysis, the question may be, how much are the lives of Africans worth to the international community? Both books make a strong case for a permanent international criminal court. Jones hoped that his book would demonstrate 'the viability of permanent international criminal justice' (at xvii). In the same vein, Morris and Scharf, on the critical question whether the creation of the Tribunal was the best option for responding to the genocide that occurred in Rwanda, respond in the positive. They discount three other alternative options: (1) granting de jure or de fact amnesty; (2) creating a truth commission; and (3) assisting in national investigations and prosecutions. According to them, 'when the world community fails to prevent genocide from occurring, it should at least seek to ensure the prosecution of the allegedly responsible individuals in an institution that is fair and is seen as fair' (at 691-697). Their views are somewhat vindicated by the 17 July 1998 decision of the diplomatic conference in Rome to establish a permanent International Criminal Court. It is, perhaps, too early to assess the achievements of the Tribunals. The 'first ever conviction by an international court on charges of genocide', delivered by the Rwandan Tribunal in the Akeyesu case, was only rendered on 2 September 1998, nearly four years after the Tribunal was set up. Moreover, the voices of the real victims of the genocide, particularly, their views on the usefulness of the process set in motion by the Tribunals are yet to be heard and may well be the focus of yet another book. The Practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda are, nonetheless, welcome additions to the growing literature on international criminal law. For those interested in the case law of the Tribunals, and particularly the Yugoslavia Tribunal, John Jones' book will prove extremely useful. Those more interested in the legislative and political history and documentation of the Rwandan Tribunal or in the general development of international criminal law since Nuremberg will find the Morris and Scharf book a more useful choice. Uché Ewelukwa Harvard Law School
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