Sharpening the Cutting Edge of International Human Rights Law: Unresolved Issues of War Crimes Tribunals

International criminal tribunals have emerged as the most tangible and well-known mechanism for seeking justice in the wake of atrocious human rights violations. As the enterprise has developed, the need to ask fundamental questions is obvious, compelling, and essential. In March, 2006, the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, together with The Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College and the Owen M. Kupferschmid Holocaust/Human Rights Project convened a diverse and impressive group of speakers from academia, the judiciary, and legal practice to evaluate: the development of “common law” of the tribunals, the function and limits of tribunals, and the state of legal concepts not clearly governed by international law. Much of the extended conversation of that day is contained in this published version, comprising seven articles. From the participants’ insights one can discern not only important new ideas and syntheses, but an outline for future research that is grounded in a deep respect for the broad human rights enterprise of which the tribunals are the “cutting edge.