International Criminal Procedure - A Clash of Legal Cultures

Author: Dr. Christine Schuon, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Abstract

The procedures used by international criminal courts blend elements of civil law and common law procedures. This mixture causes disputes between civil and common law lawyers which are hard to resolve while the disputants remain philosophically bound by the premises of their native legal systems. As these disputes frequently arise in the everyday practice of the international criminal courts, this book applies a systematic method of contextual legal comparison and a focus on characteristics of international criminal trials which may help to overcome the civil law-common law divide. This book will be of great interest for scholars and practitioners working in international criminal law and is a most valuable point of reference for practitioners at the ICC now and in the future.