Book: Intersections of Law and Culture at the International Criminal Court

Notions of culture affect the International Criminal Court legal foundations, functioning and legitimacy. Both in theory and in practice. In the book Intersections of Law and Culture at the International Criminal Court, edited by Julie Fraser and Brianne McGonigle Leyh, a framework is offered to make sense of the ideas and complexities that shape international criminal law. Fraser and Mc Gonigle Leyh are both working at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights and the Montaigne Centre at Utrecht University.

In this book, leading scholars and legal practitioners take a multidisciplinary approach to challenge the view that international law is not limited or bound by a particular culture, arguing instead that law and culture are intertwined. Analysing how culture influences views of the law, the facts to which it applies, and the fairness of the outcome, the contributors consider the implications of culture and law for the ICC and its international reach.

Human rights, culture and global justice

Dr. Julie Fraser has recently published a book on human rights implementation and culture (Social Institutions and International Human Rights Law Implementation) and Dr. Brianne McGonigle is an Associate Professor specialising in human rights and global justice, with a focus on victims’ rights, transitional justice, social justice, and the documentation of serious crimes. "We both had a similar vision for the book, which helped us to draft the introduction and craft the book’s content", Fraser says, "We had all chapters submitted for the book peer reviewed to ensure the highest standards. We are thrilled with how the book came together."

We both had a similar vision for the book and had all chapters peer reviewed to ensure the highest standards.

In critical acclaim Michael Scharf of Case Western Reserve University in the US calls it "a highly original and thought-provoking book on the ways in which culture impacts the work of the ICC." And Kamari Clarke of the University of California in Los Angeles in the US says it is "offering a missing piece of the puzzle for conceptualising the place of law and culture in international criminal law circuits." 

Brianne McGonigle explains: "Lawyers and legal scholars often view the law and culture as being separate from one another, which results in marginalising the ways in which law and culture are part and parcel of one another. Each of the chapters touches on different issues that arise when scholars begin to unpack the crucial ways in which law and culture are so intimately intertwined, from questions about language to interviewing witnesses in court as well as broader issues of legitimacy."

Lawyers and legal scholars often view the law and culture as being separate from one another, when they are in fact, intimately intertwined.

The book Intersections of Law and Culture at the International Criminal Court, is out now, at Edward Elgar publishing. 

Contributors:

P.-L. Bagott, J.I. Bishay, K. Breemen, V. Breemen, M. Coleman, C. Davis, T. Doherty, A. Dundes Renteln, M. Fałkowska-Clarys, J. Fraser, M. Goodale, N. Higgins, B. Holá, L. Martinet, G. Maučec, B. McGonigle Leyh, F. McKay, A. Merrylees, N. Narayan, A.-L. Nistor, O. Owiso, P. Oyugi, I. Roestenburg-Morgan, S. Schot, L. Swigart