The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal : law, history, and jurisprudence / David Cohen [and] Yuma Totani.

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

1st edition

89143

Tokyo Trial, Tokyo, Japan, 1946-1948.

War crimes trials -- Japan -- Tokyo -- History -- 20th century.

Law -- History -- Trials.

Part I. The Allied War Crimes Policy, the indictment, and court proceedings

1. The framework of the trial

2. Charges of crimes against peace

3. The Japanese system of government

4. Individual roles in the making of the war and the overall conspiracy

5. Counts on murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity

6. Accountability of war crimes

Part II. Law and jurisprudence of the judgments and separate opinions

7. The majority judgment: crimes against peace

8. An alternative perspective on accountability for crimes against peace: the two Webb judgments

9. The majority judgment on war crimes

10. An alternative Tokyo judgment: the draft Webb judgment on war crimes

11. The dissenting opinions by Justices Bernard and Roeling

12. Pal's 'judgment', or dissenting opinion, on crimes against peace

13. Pal's treatment of war crimes charges

14. The concurring opinions of Justices Webb and Jaranilla.

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. The first truly comprehensive assessment of the Tokyo trial as a judicial process, separating it from other ideologically motivated studies. Illustrates the Tokyo Trial's importance for international jurisprudence by placing it in the context of both modern Japanese history and international criminal law The book is based on often neglected sources, including a draft judgment by Sir William Webb, the President of the Tokyo tribunal. - Publisher's website.

9781107119703

xv, 543 p. ; 24 cm