The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal: Law, History, and Jurisprudence - Hardcover

Cohen, David; Totani, Yuma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1107119707 ISBN 13: 9781107119703

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2018

Synopsis

Like its Nuremberg counterpart, the Tokyo Trial was foundational in the field of international law. However, until now, the persistent notion of 'victor's justice' in the existing historical literature has made it difficult to treat it as such. David Cohen and Yuma Totani seek to redress this by cutting through persistent orthodoxies and ideologies that have plagued the trial. Instead they present it simply as a judicial process, and in so doing reveal its enduring importance for international jurisprudence. A wide range of primary sources are considered, including court transcripts, court exhibits, the majority judgment, and five separate concurring and dissenting opinions. The authors also provide comparative analysis of the Allied trials at Nuremberg, resulting in a comprehensive and empirically grounded study of the trial. The Tokyo Tribunal was a watershed moment in the history of the Asia-Pacific region. This groundbreaking study reveals it is of continuing relevance today.

About this title

Review:

'In The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal David Cohen and Yuma Totani, two of the most preeminent scholars on Japanese war crimes law and history, engage in the most thorough rebalancing of the legal analysis and historical appraisal of the tribunal yet to be undertaken.' Neil Boister, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

'A welcome new take on the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. Ironically, the freshness of this work rests in its classic framing. It studies the tribunal as a judicial process, examining the legal procedures by which evidence was presented and assessed. It offers a baseline for all future study of the tribunal.' Andrew Gordon, Harvard University, Massachusetts

Book Description:

Like its Nuremberg counterpart, the Tokyo trial was foundational in the field of international law. However, the persistent notion of 'victor's justice' in the existing literature has made it difficult to objectively assess. Cohen and Totani redress this by providing a fresh perspective based on careful examination of the trial record.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1107119707
• ISBN 13: 9781107119703
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 556