Payam Akhavan

"The book delivers a comprehensive overview of the foundational concepts, principles, sources, and institutions of the international legal system and how they are experienced and practiced domestically and in foreign relations"--

This book contains an unprecedented collection of essays written by scholars from the former Yugoslavia, exploring the events that led to the devastating disintegration of their homeland. The scholars, who were selected from the different, groups now in conflict, provide insightful, multicultural perspectives on the crisis.

"Could the prevailing view that genocide is the ultimate crime be wrong? Is it possible that it is actually on an equal footing with war crimes and crimes against humanity? Is the power of the word genocide derived from something other than jurisprudence? And why should a hierarchical abstraction assume such importance in conferring meaning on suffering and injustice? Could reducing a reality that is beyond reason and words into a fixed category undermine the very progress and justice that such labelling purports to achieve? For some, these questions may border on the international law equivalent of blasphemy. This original and daring book, written by a renowned scholar and practitioner who was the first Legal Advisor to the UN Prosecutor at The Hague, is a probing reflection on empathy and our faith in global justice."--Pub. desc.