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The Impact of Cultural Diversity on International Criminal Proceedings

Almqvist, Jessica LU (2006) In Journal of International Criminal Justice 4(4). p.745-764
Abstract
This article analyses the impact of cultural diversity on international criminal proceedings, and what may be done to counter the unfortunate conditions — limited (or lack of) understanding, alienation and disagreement — resulting from this diversity. Each of these conditions, if ignored, seriously undermines not merely the efficacy of international criminal tribunals, but also their worth from the standpoint of those who are supposed to benefit from them, i.e. actual participants (accused, witnesses and victims) and affected populations. At present, international criminal tribunals primarily understand the problem of cultural diversity as one of how to cope with linguistic variations. However, a persistent focus on culture as language... (More)
This article analyses the impact of cultural diversity on international criminal proceedings, and what may be done to counter the unfortunate conditions — limited (or lack of) understanding, alienation and disagreement — resulting from this diversity. Each of these conditions, if ignored, seriously undermines not merely the efficacy of international criminal tribunals, but also their worth from the standpoint of those who are supposed to benefit from them, i.e. actual participants (accused, witnesses and victims) and affected populations. At present, international criminal tribunals primarily understand the problem of cultural diversity as one of how to cope with linguistic variations. However, a persistent focus on culture as language hides differences in terms of other culture-specific components of equal relevance to their work, notably socio-cultural norms and convictions about justice. These variations are especially difficult to tackle. In this context, the article examines whether national courts, which are assumed to conduct their proceedings in more culturally homogenous settings, offer more appropriate fora of adjudication of grave crimes under international law. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Human rights, Mänskliga rättigheter
in
Journal of International Criminal Justice
volume
4
issue
4
pages
745 - 764
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:33751520123
ISSN
1478-1387
DOI
10.1093/jicj/mqi091
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
00749bd5-5227-41f3-a218-63b3f8fb1cae
date added to LUP
2020-08-20 13:24:38
date last changed
2022-10-12 12:46:33
@article{00749bd5-5227-41f3-a218-63b3f8fb1cae,
  abstract     = {{This article analyses the impact of cultural diversity on international criminal proceedings, and what may be done to counter the unfortunate conditions — limited (or lack of) understanding, alienation and disagreement — resulting from this diversity. Each of these conditions, if ignored, seriously undermines not merely the efficacy of international criminal tribunals, but also their worth from the standpoint of those who are supposed to benefit from them, i.e. actual participants (accused, witnesses and victims) and affected populations. At present, international criminal tribunals primarily understand the problem of cultural diversity as one of how to cope with linguistic variations. However, a persistent focus on culture as language hides differences in terms of other culture-specific components of equal relevance to their work, notably socio-cultural norms and convictions about justice. These variations are especially difficult to tackle. In this context, the article examines whether national courts, which are assumed to conduct their proceedings in more culturally homogenous settings, offer more appropriate fora of adjudication of grave crimes under international law.}},
  author       = {{Almqvist, Jessica}},
  issn         = {{1478-1387}},
  keywords     = {{Human rights; Mänskliga rättigheter}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{745--764}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of International Criminal Justice}},
  title        = {{The Impact of Cultural Diversity on International Criminal Proceedings}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqi091}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/jicj/mqi091}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}