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An Age-Old Question: Optical (A)llusions, (In)Decency, and (In)Justice in the Trial of Japanese War Criminals
International Criminal Law Review Pub Date : 2021-11-16 , DOI: 10.1163/15718123-bja10094
James Burnham Sedgwick 1
Affiliation  

Timing complicates all dimensions of post conflict redress. Moving too fast suggests prejudice. Going too slow delays accountability and closure. This paper challenges the temporal logic of international justice. The prosecution of aged defendants created aesthetical dilemmas for war crimes operations in post-World War ii Asia. The unsettling optical allusions of frail perpetrators in court — shadows of their former selves — left many observers conflicted: it looked indecent, it felt unjust and underwhelming. The unseemly punishment of weak defendants undercut prosecution attempts to brand perpetrators as monsters. Disappointed reporters and trial authorities fixated on the shabby dress, waning physique, and benign senescence of once-sinister villains. Few questioned the accused’s guilt. Many felt unnerved by the optics. Ultimately, this paper shows how the staging and performance of justice impacts a court’s effectiveness. Unrelenting accountability, bringing all war criminals to justice, feels right. Yet, the aesthetic complications of prosecuting aged accused may not be worth it.



中文翻译:

一个古老的问题:日本战犯审判中的视觉(A)幻觉,(In)体面和(In)正义

时间安排使冲突后补救的所有方面都变得复杂。动作太快表明存在偏见。太慢会延迟问责制和关闭。本文挑战了国际正义的时间逻辑。中年被告的起诉开创了战争罪行的操作美学困境在战后II亚洲。法庭上身体虚弱的肇事者令人不安的视觉暗示——他们以前自我的阴影——让许多观察者感到矛盾:它看起来不雅,感觉不公正和平庸。对软弱被告的不当惩罚削弱了起诉企图将肇事者标记为怪物的企图。令人失望的记者和审判当局盯着曾经险恶的恶棍的破旧服装,日渐衰弱的体格和良性衰老。很少有人质疑被告的罪行。许多人对光学系统感到不安。最后,本文展示了司法的分期和执行如何影响法院的有效性。不懈的问责,将所有战犯绳之以法,感觉是对的。然而,起诉老年被告的美学并发症可能不值得。

更新日期:2021-12-20
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