The current state of international criminal justice

  In 1993 the Security Council of the United Nations established the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and in so doing gave birth to a new system of international justice. It was followed by the Rwanda Tribunal, mixed tribunals for East Timor, Sierra Leone and Lebanon and, most important of all, the permanent International Criminal Court. The treaty establishing the Court now has the support of 108 nations, but there remain serious hurdles to be crossed. What are the prospects for the future? From 1991 to 1994, during South Africa’s transition to democracy, Justice Richard Goldstone was Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation (‘the Goldstone Commission’). He was the Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda between 1994 and 1996.  Subsequent to that, he was a Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.  Justice Goldstone has chaired the drafting committee for the Valencia Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities (for UNESCO), and the International Independent Inquiry on Kosovo. More recently he has been appointed Co-chairperson of the International Task Force on Terrorism and to the Independent International Committee to investigate the Iraq Oil-for-Food programme.  Justice Goldstone’s commitment to international justice has been recognised as recipient of the International Human Rights award of the American Bar Association, the Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Human Rights and Justice, and the MacArthur Award for International Justice. This recording of his talk held Tuesday 3 March 2009 at the Monash University Law Chambers, is courtesy of ABC Radio National\u27s Big Ideas Program