International Terror and International Justice

On July 10th, GPPi co-sponsored a discussion at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin on "International Terror and International Justice" as part of the Harvard Center for European Studies Berlin Dialogue Series. The two panellists were Detlev Mehlis (Senior Public Prosecutor in the Office of the Attorney General, Berlin and former Commissioner of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri) and Professor Gary Bass (Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University). The event was chaired by Thorsten Benner (Associate Director, GPPi).

The UN commission investigating the murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is the most prominent effort putting the UN in the business of prosecuting individuals for a political crime. This special "tribunal of international character" follows the tribunals that since the end of the Cold War have been set up to deal with atrocities in ex-Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda. What are the lessons for the development of international criminal law and the practice of international justice? How can we best combine local, national and international jurisdiction? How do EU and US perspectives differ? These were some of the key questions addressed in the session. Detlev Mehlis provided a glimpse into the process of a high-profile international terror investigation, administrative problems and successes, as well as the high-expectations of the Lebanese people while also providing the conditions necessary to successfully carry out international justice. Gary Bass addressed both the demand of international justice and the means and reasons for serving it. He stressed that if processes such as tribunals or UN investigations prove useful, they will continue, despite criticisms that they can be merely delayed reactions to desperate situations; a scape-goat for previous inaction. While acknowledging the inevitable role of international justice, Bass emphasized the need for a more flexible approach in dealing with a wider range of issues: assassination, genocide, and everything in between, as well as better cooperation between the U.S., Europe, and other democratic countries.

Questions mainly dealt with the systematics of international justice such as definition and categorization of transgression, time lag for punishment of international criminals, double standards, and administrative costs.