Latest News
'A Passing Fury', Centre co-director's new book, reviewed by The Telegraph
This weekend The Telegraph published a review of 'A Passing Fury', a new book on the British programme of war crimes investigations and trials after WW2 by Andrew Williams, Centre co-director.
Nigel Jones writes: "The abiding impression left by Williams's haunting, sensitive and thoughtful study is ambiguity. Some sort of justice was certainly seen to be done; whether it was really done is more difficult to say."
This book exposes the deeper truth of this controlled scheme of vengeance. Moving from the scripted trial of Göring, Hess and von Ribbentrop, to the makeshift courtrooms where ‘minor’ war criminals (the psychotic SS officers, the brutal guards, the executioners) were prosecuted, A Passing Fury tells the story of the extraordinary enterprise, the investigators, the lawyers and the perpetrators and asks the question: was justice done?
A short piece based on the 'A Passing Fury' was published in Lacuna magazine not long ago. Read the full article here.
Lacuna Magazine - EU/UK Call for Submissions
magazine, published by the Centre, on the topic of the UK/EU relationship. of the Magazine., and read the concept paper by the editor-in-chief, Prof Andrew Williams, here. or email Andrew (a.t.williams@warwick.ac.uk) or Alice (a.panepinto@warwick.ac.uk). Audio Lecture by Prof Andrew Williams at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law (Cambridge University)
On Friday 5th February, Centre Co-Director Andrew Williams gave a LCIL Friday Lecture 'The UK and Allegations of War Crimes in the Occupation of Iraq: A Failure of Accountability?' at Cambridge University.
The full audio lecture can be accessed here.
Lecture summary: Since 2003 there has been sustained but haphazard legal examination of the conduct of British forces during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Significant numbers of allegations of unlawful killing and abuse have been raised and are the subject of various government instituted processes of investigation. However, despite there being credible evidence of numerous breaches of international humanitarian law and human rights applicable standards, and despite these governmental procedures, there has been no proper or effective attempt by the UK to fulfil its obligations to discover the truth of these allegations, to consider whether systemic abuses occurred, or to make accountable those who have perpetrated proven violations. After briefly charting this complex terrain, I argue first that this confluence of failures renders the UK in direct contravention of international and domestic legal commitments, and second that unless the nettle of a full and open public inquiry is grasped, founded on well-established international principles, there will be no resolution of the ‘Iraq question’ which has festered for over a decade. The prospect is real therefore of a double injustice being perpetrated.